A Chance Encounter
by R-dude
Summary: Hiccup is lost. Elsa is looking for something, but she doesn't know what. A chance encounter between them turns ugly.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the recognizable characters, places and situations in this fic. I do not make profit from it, either.

**Notes:** This fic is a result of DLP's, 'Fight Club: DLP edition'. I was challenged to ... well, that will become apparent soon enough.

**~~HE~~**

**A Chance Encounter**

**~~HE~~**

"I'm still not sure about this, Elsa."

"Relax, Anna." Elsa said, rolling her eyes. Both women were dressed like the royalty they were, only that Anna wore a regal blue dress with silver trimmings, and Elsa was clad in hunting gear, with a fur coat over it, all colored white. Elsa's outfit was made for agility and sturdiness, while Anna's was for the castle hallways.

Elsa's flowing hair was blond, light enough that it could barely be distinguished from white, and pulled in a tight braid, fit for travel.

"It's not the first time I've gone." Elsa reminded her sister.

"Yes but, you're the Queen." Anna retorted, worry coloring her voice. "You can't be gone from the castle."

"The castle and the kingdom will be fine if I'm gone for a few days." Elsa replied. "We have this conversation every time I go, and every time I tell you the same thing. I have-"

"_Have_ to go north. It just calls you." Anna recited in a drawl, glaring at her sister. "So you've said, many times."

They'd reached the courtyard of the castle. An entire squad of soldiers on horseback waited for them there, dressed in furs in preparation for the cold of the northern mountains. The trip itself was something that Elsa insisted on, and the guards were what Anna insisted on. Her overprotective streak had not diminished in the four years since Elsa's coronation. Rather, it had only grown once Elsa had settled into her duties to the kingdom of Arendelle.

"Look at all the guards coming with me. I'll be fine." Elsa assured the princess. Seeing her bite her lip to stifle another argument, she drew Anna in a hug. The princess clung to her tightly.

"Don't be so dramatic," Elsa admonished, feeling slightly embarrassed that her sister was making such a fuss over a few days' stroll.

"Just be safe, okay? No risks."

"Yes, I promise. Now will you please let me go? People are watching." That was enough for Anna to release her, a flush to her cheeks. She nodded and took a step back.

Elsa turned, climbed on the saddle of the horse prepared for her, and looked back at her sister while she took the reins.

"Don't worry." She repeated in as soothing a voice as she could. "Nothing will go wrong." To emphasize her point, she raised her hand, and ice snaked around it, growing and turning, not settling into any shape. It was a reminder of Elsa's abilities, of the danger she could pose to anyone threatening her or hers.

Nothing _could_ go wrong.

Anna nodded. "I'll see you when you get back."

That seemed to be the signal, and the two lines of soldiers started trotting forwards, Queen Elsa in the middle of the procession.

"I'll be back in a few days." She called behind her as they left the castle, the gates closing with an ominous creaking noise, heading for the northern mountain pass.

** ~~E~~**

The snowstorm was in full swing. Winds howled powerfully, carrying snow and hail, making visibility extremely low and flight extremely dangerous.

The last point was particularly relevant, considering the great beast that was flapping its wings madly, just so it wouldn't be swept away by the strong winds.  
On its back, a figure was wrapped in furs, squinting through his metal helmet, trying to see what was in front and below them.

"We can't stay in this storm any longer." He yelled, leaning forward. His voice barely reached the ears of the dragon, such were the winds. A grunt was its only reply.

The rider leaned to the side, looking down. His left foot, vastly different from the right in that it was not covered with a boot, rather being an elaborate metallic prosthetic, was constantly in motion, stepping forward and backwards, directing a set of cables crisscrossing the dragon's harness. One such cable ended on the dragon's tail, directing the prosthetic tailfin in perfect synchronization with the natural one.

"Try to land in that clearing over there!" The rider yelled at the top of his voice. The dragon's head swiveled to look where its rider was pointing, and started a controlled glide towards it.

An impossibly long half hour later, the great black dragon landed on the clearing, amidst the tall trees. Thankfully, the snowstorm did not reach that deep into the forest, the tall and sturdy trees forming a barrier.

As soon as the dragon landed, the rider climbed down from its left side, prosthetic unlatching softly, and he landed in the snow. He removed the heavy fur from around him, revealing an outfit of dark brown leather, along with a set of lightweight, black, metal armor pieces.

As the dragon got familiar with their temporary shelter, the rider stood, tested the ground with his prosthetic, and looked around. His metal helmet was long, with only two narrow slits for eyes, and the whole ensemble struck quite the imposing figure.

The rider reached up and removed his helmet, revealing a head of messy brown hair, nearly reaching his shoulder. In a clearly habitual move, the man reached a gloved hand and run it through his hair, straightening it somewhat, and rolling the end of his braid between his fingers. That hair, that face, and those vivid green eyes could only belong to Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third.

"We've really done it this time, Toothless." Hiccup sighed. A low warble from the dragon replied to him.

"Hey, you're not blaming this on me!" Hiccup narrowed his eyes at his reptile companion. Toothless' form settled on one edge of the clearing, rotating slowly to pad the ground to an acceptable level. As he turned, he looked at Hiccup, face clearly annoyed and ears flat in exasperation. He snorted before returning to padding the ground.

"Okay so maybe it was my idea to head for the mountain pass, but we were so lost! Still are, I might add. It was _your_ idea to keep flying once that storm hit. Do you deny it?"

Toothless let out a throaty, dismissive sound. A small stream of fire at the ground and he was satisfied, finally settling in and wrapping his wings around himself. He plopped his head on top of his two forepaws, and closed his eyes in contentment. He opened one eye lazily and raised his right wing just so, in invitation. Hiccup sighed.

"Yeah, yeah. But you're not off the hook yet, mister." The twenty year old threatened, waving a gloved finger menacingly. He checked the gearbags hanging on the saddle, but did not remove it. They needed to be able to take off at a moment's notice, in case they were attacked by wild beasts or the storm suddenly cleared. He didn't even remove the sheathed sword hanging on his right hip.

Toothless snorted again, both eyes closed. Hiccup settled by his side, and wrapped the furs around himself. The wing closed over him, and before he knew it, he was asleep.

**~~H~~**

"What's the holdup?" Elsa demanded. It was three days into their journey, and they had reached deep into the northern mountains. Elsa's elation at the frozen environment had not been marred yet, as her powers had been enough to protect her and her entourage from the sudden and fierce blizzard that struck the previous day. They had taken shelter for the night, and the blizzard had subsided by morning, so they were once again making their way through the snowy mountains. The weather was now cloudy, but there were no chances of further blizzards.

"Apologies, my Queen." the captain of her protection detail bowed in front of her. They had stopped thirty minutes ago, and Elsa had yet to receive an adequate explanation.

"Don't apologise, captain. Rather, tell me why we stopped, and where half of our group went."

"Yes, milady. A forward scout reported a dangerous animal an hour ago. We simply want to make sure you will be in no danger."

Elsa frowned. "An animal? What kind?"

"The scout reported a dragon, milady."

Elsa's eyebrows rose and her eyes widened. A dragon? There hadn't been a dragon in the Arendelle kingdom for generations, and the populace was thankful for that, not to mention prosperous.

"He is sure?"

"Yes, my queen. It was sleeping. I've sent my men to put it down before we proceed."

Elsa frowned again and opened her mouth to say something before she thought better of it and stopped. Dragons of legend had been terrible creatures, tearing a path of fire and destruction through their kingdom. Their reappearance could only mean bad things for her and her subjects.

She gave a curt nod and settled back in her saddle, waiting impatiently.

**~~E~~**

Hiccup awoke, his eyes snapping open but he made no other move. He felt Toothless' subtle nudge with his snout, and the way Hiccup sensed the dragon's muscles tense could only spell trouble.

"What is it, bud?" He murmured under his breath. His hand closed over the handle of his sword, and he reached for his helmet, placing it softly over his head. Toothless motioned with his snout, pointing towards the woods.

Hiccup strained his ears to listen and squinted to look at the darkness of the trees.

"I hear them." He murmured again. And he did. Faint crunches of twigs on the snow bed, the slow rustle of weapons and armor. Whoever they were, they were not being as sneaky as they thought, and not nearly as sneaky as they should have been if they thought to sneak up on a dragon. Hidden as he was under Toothless' wing, they probably had not seen him.

"Be ready." Hiccup growled, muscles tensing. Toothless let out a low rumble of agreement, and his limbs moved in preparation to rise and pounce. The grunt of exertion, and the whistle of something flying through the air were their signal. Hiccup sprang up, foot already on the stirrups and body swinging into place on the saddle. While he did this, Toothless himself sprang to his feet, quickly sidestepping to the left. Where he previously lay, a long hunting spear buried itself into the ground.

Hiccup saw the deadly projectile, and his resolve immediately steeled. Whoever they were, they did not even attempt to communicate before using lethal force. No one_-no one_- would kill Toothless, Hiccup would not allow it.

He looked around through the slits in his helmet, and saw several enemies springing though the trees, long spears and swords in their hands. The small clearing was a disadvantage for the dragon rider, and though Toothless would usually make short work of such mundane enemies, such a number would, sooner or later, manage to sneak a spear or sword through the dragon's defenses.

Toothless roared angrily, and the soldiers paused.

"Up, Toothless." Hiccup commanded briskly. The Night Fury unfolded his wings, and before the soldiers could do anything else, he was gone, rocketing up into the air, thankfully free of blizzards.

As they sprang from the treetops, he and Toothless levelled their flight, and Hiccup took stock of their surroundings.

"There!" He pointed out. Just over the end of the woods, another group of soldiers were huddled together, and a few of them were leading a number of horses away.

Hiccup was just about to order Toothless to fly away from those savages, when something caught his eye. Amidst the soldiers was a woman. His vision was something he was proud of, so he was able to make her out. The fact that a woman was among the soldiers was weird in and of itself, but she seemed to be dressed in all white and ... no furs? Was she insane? No fur coat in this cold?

Hiccup himself repressed a shiver. His own furs were tragically lost in the clearing.

"Take us closer bud. There's something I wanna see."

Toothless grumbled but complied, turning their flight for a pass above the second group.

**~~H~~**

The anticipation was finally broken when a terrifying roar broke the silence of the mountain. Elsa did not manage to repress a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold.

"What was that?" She asked, though she was perfectly aware of just what it was. Her captain looked just as uncertain as she felt, and he opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out of it.

Something broke out of the treetops in the distance, a black shape that kept rising and rising, until great leathery wings stretched, and it levelled out into the air. Another roar broke the silence.

"Dragon!" Her captain yelled, and her soldiers took their formation around her for protection. They sent the horses away, for they were already on the verge of panic.

The dragon seemed to be flying away, but it suddenly changed direction and came straight towards them, losing some altitude as it did so. Each flap of its powerful wings brought it ever closer, much faster than any of them had imagined.

"It's coming this way!" One of her soldiers yelled, fear etched into his voice and features. Elsa took in the sight of the beast, black as night, with four limbs with wicked claws, bat like wings, and teeth that glinted in the morning sun. Its furious green eyes could be seen even from this distance.  
She removed her gloves, fully prepared to defend herself and her subjects.  
Strangely, the dragon did not go any lower than the height of the treetops, even after it had left the forest behind. It levelled again, and though it was flying towards them, Elsa doubted that it was an interception course.  
"Archers!" Her captain commanded, and a third of her guards broke off from the rest of the group and rushed forward, assuming firing position and loading their arrows.

When they deemed the beast within range, the captain yelled for the archers to fire. The arrows loosed, and a rain of steel and death headed for the dragon's path.

The beast saw the danger, however, and managed at the last minute to barrel roll to the left, folding its wings on itself and then unfolding them again as it left the path of the arrows. Elsa narrowed her eyes. As the dragon was rolling, its back was visible for a split second, and she could have sworn that she'd ... seen something there. Some shape, and something glinting in the sun.

After it completed its dodge, the dragon roared in outrage and flapped its wings to gain altitude. Just as it was about to be lost into the clouds it changed direction, and almost free fell towards the ground. It was so fast! An unholy screeching filled the air, born of what, she did not know, for the dragon's mouth was closed.

Elsa saw the creature's trajectory, falling almost straight towards the group of archers, and realized what was about to happen a split second before it did.

Her magic leapt from her hands, at the same time as the ball of fire left the dragon's mouth. The magic formed a dome of ice, as resistant as she could make it at such short notice, around her soldiers. The dragon unfolded its wings, catching the wind and changing direction just as the ball of fire impacted her ice barrier.

The ground shook as her ice barrier shattered, but the fire disintegrated and her soldiers were mostly unharmed, some shards of ice unfortunately striking some of them. As the dragon passed above them, she sent a stream of frost, hoping to freeze the beast whole. The incoming threat was noticed, however, and the beast evaded, her powers only catching onto the edge of its left wing.

The dragon's head zeroed in on her, and as it was turning with difficulty and struggling to stay level with its half-frozen wing, she got a good look at its back. A gasp left her throat; there was someone there! A man was riding the dragon! And those glints that she'd thought she'd seen, had been the sun shining against the harness that was around the dragon.

She rounded on her captain. "You said it was a wild dragon." She hissed at him. "Why is there a rider on it?"

The captain looked between her and the dragon, confusion etched on his face. Elsa repressed a sigh. Maybe she shouldn't be too hard to him. The captain was good at his job, but thinking deeply was not his strong point.

"I don't know your highness, but it's coming this way!"

Indeed, the dragon had completed its turn and was flying back towards them. The frost on the edge of its wing had been broken, but Elsa had not seen how. Her eyes inspected everything she could, from the glints of metal that she spotted, to the flash of red on its tail. The rider could be seen, at least part of him. All she could see was brown, and a metallic helmet with no characteristics.

The archer group had scattered, but the dragon released another insanely fast, blue fireball towards them. She was ready though, and the ice barrier had already formed on the fire's path, stronger than the one before. In contrast to her stronger defense, the fireball seemed weaker. As if ... a distraction!

She snapped her eyes back to the dragon, and saw that it had not stopped flying towards them and that it was now almost directly above them. She saw, to her great horror, the rider. He was sitting up straight in the saddle, a bow in his hands, arrow notched and aimed directly at her.

A split second later, the arrow was released, and all Elsa could do was to throw her arms forward and release her ice magic directly in front of her, hoping it would be enough to save her. Her eyes closed reflexively.

When she opened them again, two seconds later, the dragon had flown past them, and there was an arrow, perfectly frozen in place a few centimeters in front of her nose.

The realization that she had almost died to the rider's ploy flooded her, and anger welled up inside her.

"Captain." She commanded. The man, who had been following the dragon with his eyes, turned to look at her. "Take your men and head for the trees. You will be safe there."

"My Queen, we swore to protect you."

"There is nothing you can do against this foe. Go now or I will freeze you and transport you there myself. That is an order!"

The captain gulped, but her glare and direct order silenced him from saying anything else. He nodded briskly and relayed the command to his men. They looked anxiously at their queen, but she was not looking at them. Her eyes were locked on the dragon and its rider, who were now gaining altitude, no doubt for another attack pass.

Her eyes grew as cold as the snow around her, and an aura of frost radiated from her. Ice slowly formed under her feet, and a column of ice rose from the ground, carrying her higher and higher. Frost swirled around her fists, as she glared at her attempted killer.

She was no longer seventeen and unable to control her powers. If the dragon rider thought he could take on the Snow Queen, he was in for a very cold surprise.

**~~E~~**

Hiccup realized what a bad idea it had been to head towards the group as soon as he saw the archers prepare to fire, even though Toothless had done nothing aggressive. In hindsight, he understood that they would not have been able to tell an aggressive dragon from a friendly one.

He had approached the group hoping to get a good look at the woman, and maybe even land and solve the misunderstanding. Both he and Toothless had seen the group of archers at about the same time, and Hiccup ordered "Dodge!". Toothless veered wildly to the left, rolling to present a smaller target and make his change in direction easier.

They managed to evade the volley, if barely, and Hiccup seethed. Once again, those strangers had tried to kill him and Toothless. They would not get away with it. No one killed dragons needlessly in his presence. That went double for his best friend and life companion. Those people had signed their own death warrants with this unprovoked attack.

"Toothless, attack vector."

The Night Fury grunted in agreement, and they gained altitude, as they had done countless times before. When Hiccup deemed their height acceptable, he urged Toothless downwards. The telltale sound of their signature move was music to Hiccup's ears, as they zeroed in on the offending group of archers. Toothless released his fireball and immediately opened his wings to cut their drop.

Hiccup followed the fire's trajectory with his eyes. He always watched the people he killed as they died, if he could. Not out of sadism, but to remind himself of the consequences of his actions. That killing was a choice, and a choice that he had decided to make every time, and that his victims, no matter who they were, deserved at least to have someone watch them die.

To his great surprise, he saw a stream of white head for the archer group and suddenly, ice sprung from the ground, intercepting the fireball before it got to them. The attack exploded and the barrier shattered, but it had done its job. The archers had survived. Hiccup's eyes followed the stream's path to the source, and his eyes widened when he saw the white-clad woman unleash another beam of frost, aiming at them this time!

"Go right!" He urged his friend, and Toothless complied. They managed to avoid the worst of the attack, but some of it touched Toothless' wing, which immediately froze over, tearing a painful yell from the Night Fury. Dragon and rider alike glared at the woman as they passed overhead, as Toothless fought to remain in the air with his left wing half frozen.

'_Sorcery_!' Hiccup cursed inwardly. He hadn't seen a magic user in quite a bit, and never one who could do something like this. To Toothless, he said "Breathe on the ice." The dragon did so, and the thin sheet of ice thawed. Toothless shook his wing to clear it of the last traces of the woman's magic.

'_What would have happened if we'd been fully hit by that?_' Hiccup wondered, although he knew the answer. They would have completely frozen and fallen to their deaths. The woman, the sorceress, had tried to kill them, too. She would have to die, as well. But she, unlike the soldiers, was an actual threat.

"Make another pass at the archers, and then immediately head for the sorceress. Try to give me a clear shot." Hiccup instructed his friend, and the Night Fury snorted in a distinctly positive way that the viking had years before associated with the word 'yes'. He untied his bow from where it lay on the right saddlebag, and drew an arrow from the quiver next to it.

The plan worked, for the most part. Their second pass on the archers drew another barrier from the sorceress, and though they were prepared to dodge another attack aimed at themselves, it didn't come. Hiccup's aim, perfected over years of unerring synchronization with Toothless, had been spot on. The sorceress was nevertheless saved, barely managing to freeze his arrow before it hit her. Hiccup cursed as he led Toothless away, clear of the woman's magic and seeking to gain altitude.

When they turned again, they saw that the soldiers had left the woman and headed for the cover of the trees. The woman herself was rising, standing atop an ever-growing ice column, visibly emitting an aura of frost. She seemed livid, seething.

_Good._

"Be ready to dodge. We can't be hit again." He warned the dragon, and received an ear-slap in return, along with a grumble. "Just checking." He pacified his friend.

They were approaching the woman now, who had lifted herself above the treetops using only her ice. She watched them approach, and when she deemed them at close enough range, unleashed her powers. White streams of ice and frost headed straight for them and their intended path, too fast for most dragons to dodge.

Toothless was not most dragons.

With the elegance and ease associated only with the Night Fury itself, he weaved between the rivers of magic, not letting a single one graze him. After he had reached an acceptable shooting distance, he unleashed a fireball. It was not aimed at the sorceress herself, but rather, at the column beneath her feet. The ice shattered, but she had already jumped off it. Instead of a fall to her death, she stepped lightly on another pillar of ice, created almost instantly and branching off from the base of the first one, and kept up her assault.

As Toothless flew past the woman, too fast for her to freeze him, Hiccup unleashed another arrow. She was ready for it this time, and the arrow stopped, frozen in its tracks, meters away from her.

Toothless put some distance between them, still evading the beams of ice magic that rained down around them.

"Pelt her fast!" Hiccup instructed, and when Toothless turned back towards the woman, he began unleashing low powered fireballs that, while relatively weak, would still deal some damage and could be fired at regular intervals. In defense, the woman created three layers of elaborate ice barriers in front of her. When the third was about to break under the Night Fury's assault, she jumped off her ice pillar. Rather than creating another ice column to step on, she created an uneven path, sliding gracefully on as she created it in front of her and thus propelling herself wherever she wanted.

Hiccup saw the danger when he woman began creating an ice slide and headed directly towards them, unleashing more frost, and urged Toothless to turn and put distance between them.

"We have to fight her from afar. If she hits us, we're done." He warned. Toothless let out a frustrated growl, but it was more a token resistance than anything else. Again, they weaved between the sorceress' streams of ice, but this time putting distance between them was not as easy, for she was following them up in their air, using her powers to create ice on which to step and slide on.

They dodged as best they could, and managed to not get hit.

Hiccup, who had been keeping a careful eye on their surroundings, noticed the gathering clouds and the snow rising from ground level.

"Thor almighty." He swore, as the blizzard was reborn, this time summoned by the Ice Sorceress. He chanced a look behind them, and saw an experssion of fierce concentration on her pale face, dashed with just the right amount of anger. She was close enough for Hiccup to make out some details about her, such as her nearly-white blond hair, her young and beautiful face, and the small but impressive circlet on her hair.  
However, this was not the time for admiring his enemy. There would be time for that later, maybe. The snowstorm was picking up, now, and their visibility was dropping. Hiccup chanced a guess that their opponent would not be hindered at all by the storm, but Toothless' flight would be impaired. Soon, she would catch up to them, and that was not good. He needed a plan.

"Hide in the clouds, bud. She provided us with a blizzard: let's use it."

Toothless grunted his assent, and then broke from the previous path, heading upwards, closer to the clouds that were spawning the snow and hail. A few seconds later, they vanished in them.

The tables had turned.

**~~H~~**

Elsa cursed under her breath when she saw the infuriating dragon vanish. Her blizzard had worked so far, in that it had slowed them down and allowed her to almost catch up to them. The snow and hail had made it harder for them to dodge her attacks, but before she could nail them with something, they had changed course and headed straight for the clouds, summoned for her snowstorm. After a brief hesitation, she followed them. The snow and hail did not touch her, and the cold never bothered her, but her visibility was just as hindered as theirs must have been.

The moment she lost sight of them, she never found them again. She flew around inside the clouds, looking for the telltale shape of the dragon. A minute later, she heard the terrifying screech again, and saw a faint flash on her left. She turned quickly, and sent a surge of magic from her hands, instantly creating a barrier of solid ice to block the incoming fireball. The fire smashed against her barrier, and she caught the briefest glimpse of the dragon's shape before it vanished back into the cover of the clouds.

She was forced to block again and again, as she was pelted with fire from every possible angle, and though it angered her that she was so cornered, she could not help but admire the dragon's speed and agility.

In the end, she realized that her blizzard was having a negative effect, and released her magic over it. The snow fell slowly to the ground, and no more followed it. The heavy, dark clouds vanished back into the air, and the sky cleared a little bit. She could see better now, but the day was still cloudy by itself, and she had no way of completely dispersing them.

Through the remaining clouds her opponents appeared, and once again she was pelted with a barrage of fireballs before she could launch her own attack. She formed her shield again, this time aiming to redirect the attacks away from her rather than blocking them directly. It seemed to do the trick, for the fireballs blasted off of her shield but didn't explode, and her shield did not shatter like the others. She was preparing to go on the offensive, when the ice beneath her feet shattered. She realized that one of the blasts must have been aimed for her foothold, but didn't think any more on this as she plummeted from the sky.

She let out a horrified cry as she fell, trying to create ice to slide on, but she was turning too fast, and was too terrified to concentrate correctly. She caught a glimpse of the dragon, and saw the flash of the rider's bow. She had the presence of mind to swing her hands, and a stream of frost along with it, which redirected the arrow's path so that instead of running her through, it merely flew an inch next to her face.

She managed to bring her fear under control and level herself as she fell, which enabled her to create ice beneath her and try to slow and redirect her fall.  
It worked, for the most, and she managed to create a slide that cut enough momentum that when she crashed into the bed of snow she wasn't killed.

She picked herself off the snow, spitting it out of her mouth and wiping it out of her eyes. She was disoriented, and her stomach was weak from the fall, but she knew that she had to find the dragon, or she would soon be dead.

She rose to her feet unsteadily, and shook her head, ridding it of leftover snow and bringing the world back into focus. Her eyes scanned the sky to locate the dragon, as she rotated in place to look everywhere around her. The unholy screeching was her warning that the attack was incoming.

_There!_

Ice leapt to her hands as she spotted the dragon, flying towards her from the west at full speed, its face locked in a visage of fierce determination.  
She saw the fireball that left its mouth. It was bigger than any she had seen before. But she was ready, and ice was hers to command. The ground in front of her rose at her command, forming the strongest, sturdiest barrier of ice she had yet made. The blast hit her barrier, and both exploded. She had to cover her face with her hands and turn to the side from the strength of the blast, but she didn't feel anything reach her. She had done it!

She opened her eyes again and looked beyond her wrecked barrier, catching sight of the dragon as it was flying away and turning slowly, wings extended. Something was wrong. Something was ... _Where is the rider?_ She thought frantically. The saddle on the dragon's back was empty!

She looked around wildly, trying to locate her cunning enemy. She heard a faint whistle of air, and looked to its source, eastwards. What she saw left her dumbfounded for a second, hesitation that cost her. The rider was gliding under his own power, small leathery surfaces between his extended hands and torso, and he was heading directly towards her at frightening speed. He was almost upon her!

Before she had time to even raise her hands, the gliding rider reached her. He slammed into her with the force of a boulder, and they both tumbled in the snow, falling down the side of the mountain.

Elsa was not used to physical battles of any kind, and she quickly lost her bearings at the rough tumbling. She landed harshly, and the rider landed atop her. Her head throbbed painfully, and her eyes were clenched shut from disorientation and pain. She could feel the weight of her enemy settle on top of her, pinning her hands down with one of his own, holding them together.

She felt something cold touch her neck, and only then did she open her eyes. She saw the rider's frightening helmet with no characteristic besides the slits, and she felt the knife's edge on her throat. How crazy was this man? Did he free fall out of his dragon? Who does that, any of that?  
"Don't move." The rider commanded harshly. His voice was deep, and muffled by the metallic helmet. She dared not move, she dared not speak, she could hardly _think_.

"If I feel your ice anywhere, _I will slit your throat_." He threatened, and his voice got even harsher, causing Elsa to flinch.

"And even if you can freeze me before I kill you, Toothless will," he noted and nudged his head to the side. Elsa saw, through her peripheral vision, that the dragon had landed near them and was watching her carefully. She did not doubt her captor's words.

"Okay?" He asked, to make certain she understood him. Elsa absently thought that his accent was quite weird, but she could understand him perfectly. She nodded imperceptibly.

She had regained her bearings, and the pain in her head had subsided. She could fully process the situation now.

"If you plan to kill me," She told him coldly. She would not give him the satisfaction of submitting. "Do so now. I will not allow myself to be taken hostage for ransom."

"Kill you?" The rider asked, incredulity in his voice. "Are you crazy, woman? You and your people tried to kill us, we don't even know you."

"You tried to kill the archers. You tried to kill _me_. You have me on knife point." Elsa pointed out, her courage returning.

"The archers would have killed us if we hadn't dodged. As would you. As would your soldiers in the forest. What did we do to you? Why did you attack us?"

"You ride a dragon." She pointed out, condescension in her voice as if to a small child. "Beasts that lay waste to all they go through. My soldiers thought you a danger to me, and tried to protect me."

"Not _another_ one." The rider said, frustration in his voice. The knife in her neck had drawn a single drop of blood by now, and she felt it slide down the side of her neck. The dragon snorted aggressively on the side, but the rider ignored it. "Dragons are not mindless beasts. This dragon did nothing to you, and you tried to kill him again and again without provocation. And you have the nerve to assume the moral high ground?"

No one had spoken like that to Elsa, ever. And what he said ... could he be telling the truth? Had they attacked unprovoked and thus only forced the dragon and rider to defend themselves?

"You seem like a reasonable sort, and I'd hate to kill you." The rider continued. His voice had softened from its steely edge, and Elsa found that it sounded almost ... pleasant. "So, do you promise to be good if I remove this knife from your throat?"

A heavy question. Elsa could feel the cold edge of the knife digging on her neck. What choice did she have? She was at his mercy, and he offered to spare her life.

"I do."

Immediately the weight lifted off of her, and the knife vanished from her throat. She released the breath she didn't know she was holding, and looked up. The rider had stood, towering above her. He replaced the knife in a fold of his brown leather outfit, and reached with his right hand to remove his helmet. Underneath the featureless helmet lay a mess of long brown hair, a pleasant and slightly scarred face with a big nose, and a pair of vivid green eyes, peering at her guardedly. A scar ran from his left cheek to the center of his nose. Looking lower, she noticed that his left foot was an elaborate metallic prosthetic, but she couldn't see where prosthetic ended and where flesh began.

His free hand was extended towards her, an offer in more ways than one.

She reached for it, and the stranger hauled her to her feet, less gently than she would have liked. Hiding her scowl at the rough treatment, she stood in front of him, taking in his appearance and trying to think of something to do or say, acutely aware of the terrifying dragon standing a few feet to her left.

In lieu of saying anything else, she opted to introduce herself.

"I am Elsa, Queen of Arendelle." She said, with as much formality as she could, extending her hand as she would to a foreign dignitary. She saw surprise in his eyes, as she expected, but then she saw mirth, which she did not. A small grin appeared on the stranger's face that completely ruined his threatening posture. He caught her hand in his gloved one and shook it strongly.

"I am Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, Chief of the Vikings of Berk." He introduced himself. Elsa did not think of the strangeness of the name, too caught up in the consequences of his revelation. He was a leader too. They had attacked the chief of a Viking tribe uprovoked. _She_, personally, had nearly killed the leader of a Viking tribe, and perhaps even worse, had failed at her attempt.

"And this is Toothless," he said as he released the handshake, pointing with his thumb over to the dragon. Elsa followed his gaze and shivered. The dragon looked incredibly menacing and ready to pounce, and he was definitely _not_ toothless.

"He may seem like a really dangerous beast, but he's really just a big, soft lizard that-"

He didn't finish his sentence, because the dragon had cuffed him upside the head with the end of its tail. Hiccup rubbed the sore spot, and glared at his dragon, completely ignoring Elsa for now.

He raised his hand, and shook a gloved finger at his companion. "What have I told you about interrupting me when I talk politics, you useless reptile?" He admonished.

Elsa could not help it. She burst into laughter.

**~~E~~**


	2. Chapter 2

**.**

**~~HE~~**

**A Chance Encounter, Chapter 2**

**~HE~**

As soon as it happened, Elsa realized her faux pas and did her best to reign in her laughter. She managed it, and after a final giggle at the absurdity of the situation, brought herself under control. The brown haired rider had stopped scolding his dragon and instead looked at her, a smile playing on his own lips.

He stood up straighter, and he was nearly a head taller than Elsa herself. He shuffled the helmet held under his arm to a better grip, and Elsa's eyes were drawn to it. She almost flinched when her gaze landed on the featureless mask, her mind's eye flashing back to the incoming fireballs, or the arrow barely frozen inches away from her head.

No, she could not afford to let her guard down, even if the rider did not seem hostile any longer. Nevertheless, she was a Queen, and she would act like one.

As she schooled her features, so did the rider, and they were both back to assessing each other.

"You have my official apologies, Chief Haddock, for this unprovoked attack on your person." She began, keeping her voice level and steady. She saw the rider frown, but he didn't interrupt her. "It was a misunderstanding that was completely our fault, and I apologize once again for it. We have shown you are our worst, let us show you our best. Please accept my invitation to the capital of my kingdom, and to my own castle, where we may repay you this disservice."

The dragon rider's brow furrowed even further, and his back straightened from its casual leaning. When he spoke, his own voice carried an air of authority that Elsa recognized from her own 'Queen speech'.

"I accept your apologies, but I am afraid I must decline your invitation."

"If you are in a hurry of course we will understand, but please consider-"

"I am not in a hurry." Haddock cut her off, and Elsa closed her mouth, trying to keep her temper from flaring. The only one who interrupted her and got away with it was her sister, and this man was not her sister. "I am not expected back for several weeks yet."

"Then, what seems to be the problem?"

"With all due respect Queen Elsa, I'm not sure I want any more of your _hospitality_." He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm at the end. Elsa grit her teeth, and closed her eyes for a second to compose herself further. Her cheeks reddened from both shame and anger. Anger because he just insulted her, her integrity, and her kingdom, and shame because, for all he knew and for all she had shown so far, he was _right_. She had to find some way to convince him. Even if he had no desire to come, she had to make it up to him somehow.

"You have my word as Queen that no harm will befall you or the dragon while you are my guests and conform to a few basic rules. In fact, I insist. My honor compels me to compensate you for this unwarranted attack. Please allow me to do so and not return to my castle in shame. As one leader to another, Chief Haddock." She ended with a plea, something she was unfamiliar with, but with her honor at stake, her pride could take a step back.

Haddock rubbed his eyes, and didn't reply for a few seconds, thinking it over. Eventually, he looked her in the eyes again. Elsa was mildly annoyed to note that he had to look down to do so.

"My own honor as chief compels me to not spurn your heartfelt invitation. Very well, I will take your word that we will come to no harm." His eyes pierced her own, and Elsa was acutely aware that he had spared her life not five minutes ago. No, she would not go back on her word.

"However," Chief Haddock said, "Unless you plan on giving me a clan name to call you by, I insist that you call me Hiccup."

"Very well, Chief Hiccup." The way his eye twitched at her skilled evasion brought a smile to her face.

"Fair enough, _Queen_ Elsa." He replied, stressing her title. Unlike him, however, Elsa was not bothered by it.

"The castle is no more than a few days' travel from here. Would you accompany me and my entourage?" A pointless question, both knew. Hiccup had already agreed to come, and the only way to do that was with them, but they both played along with the formalities.

"Of course, Queen Elsa."

With a nod, Elsa turned towards the black beast, who was still watching her every move, expression screaming distrust.

"There is also the matter of the .. dragon." She said slowly, fairly certain that the dragon would not pounce on her when its rider was talking to her, but not liking to take risks.

"What about him?" Chief Hiccup asked, frowning at her.

"I understand that you are close, but I will have to ask you to part, at least for a little while."

The dragon growled and took a half step forward, crouching. Elsa took a fearful step back, and Hiccup shook his head. "Out of the question," he said. "Toothless goes where I go. We're a package deal."

Elsa looked from the dragon to the rider, trying to work it out in her head. Suddenly, she had an idea. Yes, this would work.

"I'm afraid there is no other choice. Our mounts will flee the moment they see ... Toothless," she forced herself to say the name, having trouble associating the terrifying black dragon with anything as harmless as the name implied. "And without them, we will take weeks to get back, not to mention their worth."

She saw chief Hiccup process this, and hoped that she didn't just force him to rethink coming. Honestly, the horses were not the reason she didn't want the dragon anywhere near her, but it was a good enough reason that Haddock should accept.

Judging by the disappointed look in his face, she was not hiding her intentions as well as she thought. Despite this, chief Hiccup let out a sigh, and said "Alright."

With this, he turned to his dragon, and took a few steps forward, reaching him. Elsa resisted the illogical urge to take hold of his arm and yank him back, away from the beast. He obviously trusted the creature with his life. She knew that if there was anyone the dragon would never hurt, that was his rider.

Chief Hiccup placed his hand on the dragon's snout, and rubbed him gently.

"Toothless." He started, his voice gentle and apologetic. The beast let out an angry snort and pounded his paws on the ground, eyes narrowed and glaring directly at her. Elsa was paralyzed, but Hiccup was holding the dragon back, and even if it pounced, she should be able to freeze him before it got to her.

"Stop that," Hiccup admonished the dragon. "You know she's right." Toothless' eyes snapped to Hiccup, and he let out an irritated warble that, while angry, did not have the tone of rage and denial of his previous outburst.

"Yes, I know we could just leave, but I was invited. What kind of chief would I be if I refused an official invitation from a foreign Queen?"

This was too bizarre for Elsa, but at the same time, so extraordinary that she couldn't look away. He was having a conversation, an honest to god _conversation_, with the beast!

The dragon's expression softened, and his eyes were downcast. He let out a pitiful whine from the back of his throat.

"Oh come on. Don't pout, you big baby. What will the Queen think?" Apparently Toothless didn't care what Elsa thought of him, for he continued his pouting and whining. "Fine, I'll buy you a full basket of fish as soon as I can, okay?"

Toothless seemed to consider this, and finally let out two short barks. "Okay," Hiccup said, resigned. "Three baskets. Alright?"

Even Elsa understood the dragon's grunt as grudging acceptance, and Hiccup patted the dragon's head murmuring soft words to him.

"Toothless, you know what we must do now." The black dragon stared at him in what Elsa recognized as confusion, and then his eyes widened, and he shook his head frantically. Hiccup reached with both hands, and pacified the beast.

"I know how much you hate it bud, and trust me I don't want it either. But you know this is the only way. And it's only for a little while. We'll stop often, don't worry."

Toothless resigned himself to his fate and hung his head, letting out a pitiful warble. Elsa nearly, _nearly_, felt sorry for the terrible beast.

Chief Hiccup moved, going around the dragon and working on the harness. Elsa watched with undisguised interest as he unlatched, untied, and finally removed the saddle, stirrups, and finally the red tailfin at the end of the dragon's tail. Elsa realized what that flash of red that she'd seen earlier was, the dragon had an artificial tailfin!

With the same economy of movement, Hiccup removed the tailfin from the rest of the harness, and repositioned the saddle and stirrups to their earlier position on the dragon's hide. From a saddlebag he retrieved a long piece of folded black leather, that had a mechanism on one end. Elsa didn't see it clearly, and had no idea what it was, but chief Hiccup moved to the end of the dragon's tail, and there placed the contraption, strapping it where the red artificial tailfin had been. Now Elsa realized that this was another artificial tailfin, though she had no idea what the difference between the red and the black one was.

As soon as he was done, Hiccup rose to his feet and urged the dragon to try it out. Toothless looked at his tail, and moved his remaining natural tailfin. The mechanism apparently worked, for the artificial one moved in tandem. Elsa was as surprised at the incredible feet of engineering as she was at the dragon's snarl of disgust, but didn't say anything, knowing that she was missing most pieces of the puzzle, and that it was too early to form an opinion on anything.

Hiccup returned to the saddlebags, and removed another folded contraption. This one was was mostly wooden with some metallic pieces on it, and the Viking Chief unfolded it and, raising his left foot with the prosthetic, fitted it around the metallic appendage. The contraption clicked into place with a soft pop, and the viking was satisfied. When he next placed his foot on the ground, it did not sink as it had earlier, but held to the same level as his booted foot did.

"Go now, bud. Find something to eat, would you? I'll see you when we make camp." Chief Haddock told to the black dragon, and it warbled something in reply, pushing its snout on his chest, before taking a few steps back, crouching, and taking off.

Elsa watched the dragon fly away, higher and higher, aware that she was now alone with Hiccup. She saw the dragon make long circles at cloud level, above their general area of the forest, but it was getting very far away now.

Suddenly remembering her soldiers, she called out towards the woods for them to come out. The quiet of the mountain side carried her words, and she didn't have to yell herself hoarse. Her people started coming out of the woods and approaching them, hurried.

Despite her reassurances, and his own declared belief in her word, she saw chief Hiccup stiffen as he caught sight of the approaching soldiers, and lay a hand on the pommel of his sword.

She was about to say something, but he beat her to it, and his tone was neutral, guarded. "You should know that between me and Toothless, I am the levelheaded one. He does not share my aversion to needless killing. Should anything happen to me, there will be nothing capable of holding him back." Which Elsa translated inwardly to _'Unless you want to die a fiery painful death, you'd better not kill me.'_

"Your concern is understandable, Chief Hiccup, but unnecessary." Elsa reassured him as the soldiers reached them, her captain coming to a stop in front of her.

The captain looked between his Queen and the strange man in confusion, having half a mind to point his sword at him and demand an explanation, but held back by his Queen's apparent ease next to him.

_When in doubt, defer to the Queen,_ he always says.

"My Queen?"

"This is Chief Hiccup Haddock, of the Vikings of Berk." Elsa declared. If Hiccup was impressed by her memory, he did not show it in any way. Elsa continued. "He and the dragon Toothless are not enemies. In fact, from here on out, they are my guests, and will be treated as such."

The captain's confusion multiplied, and his head snapped between the strange man, his queen, and the black spot on the sky. Murmuring broke among the soldiers, but none dared speak out.

"As you command, my Queen." Then, turning to Hiccup, he bowed once again. "My lord." He addressed him. Elsa saw, to her amusement, Hiccup stiffen, but not in aggression. If she had to guess, she'd go with embarrassment.

"At ease, please. Hiccup or Chief Haddock will do." He told the gathered guards. The captain looked uncertain. This was not in the protocol he knew.

"... my lord?"

Elsa decided to give the two men a break before the mountain decided to swallow them and save the world from everlasting awkwardness.

"Captain, gather the men and the horses. We ride for Arendelle." Arendelle, besides the name of the entire kingdom, was the name of the capital city as well. The city where her family's castle lay for generations.

"Yes my Queen." The captain said, relief evident in his voice.

Soon, everyone was gathered. The horses had been brought back from their hiding place, and everyone was climbing onto their saddles.

Which presented a new problem.

"And what about chief Haddock, your Highness?" One of her soldiers asked Elsa, once she was safely astride her white horse.

_What about him? He doesn't have a horse, and his mount can't exactly walk next to the horses._

She could have him ride with one of her soldiers, but that could be seen as demeaning for someone of his status. He could ride with her, and that would be somewhat improper, but at least it wouldn't be insulting.

"He will ride with me until we find another horse," she made known her decision. The soldiers around her looked scandalized, and her captain looked ready to speak out, but in the end none dared contradict their Queen.

Chief Hiccup himself was frowning at her. She saw his gaze wash over her, and the short space behind her on the horse. At least his contemplative eyes on her did not make her feel sick, like so many others had over the years.

She was broken out of her thoughts when chief Hiccup pointed to a spot behind her, and asked, "What about those?"

Elsa looked where he was pointing, and saw a group of five horses, loaded with supplies for the journey. She frowned as she looked back at the viking chief.

"Those are supply horses. Little better than mules." She had never met a nobleman that would deign to ride a supply horse.

"They'll do. Can you distribute the weight off of one of them?" He asked.

_What_? He wanted to ride a supply horse? He _preferred_ riding a supply horse than riding with Elsa? Of course, Elsa was grateful, for she had no wish to share her horse with her would-be killer, but still, it's the principle of the matter.

Letting none of her simmering anger show, she nodded curtly, and motioned for her men to take care of it. Soon, one of the horses had been cleared of its load, fitted with a spare saddle, and led to them. Chief Hiccup looked at the horse for a few seconds, and then awkwardly climbed on the saddle, settling carefully.

"You don't have much experience with horses, do you?" She asked, hoping it didn't come out condescending or insulting. It mustn't have, for he only shook his head.

"Not many horses where I come from."

Elsa spurred her horse forward, and the procession began, with her and chief Hiccup on the front. He was doing a decent job of controlling the horse, for someone apparently novice at it. _How different is it riding to a dragon?_ Elsa wanted to ask, but decided against it.

"Are you not cold, Chief Hiccup?" She asked him, noting that his leather outfit can't be that fat or insulated. His head whipped to her, and he looked at her with a completely surprised expression for a second. Then, he burst into deep, rumbling laughter.

'_What did I say?_' Elsa wondered, watching him laugh. The sound was pleasant, and sent a tingle down her spine, but the fact that he was _laughing at her_ was testing her carefully controlled temper. Soon, Hiccup got himself under control, and wiped a couple of tears from his eyes. _Surely what I said wasn't _this_ funny?_ Elsa bristled.

"Apologies, Queen Elsa, you mustn't judge me for laughing." He said once he completely calmed down. Elsa raised an eyebrow at him. "It's just, no one asks if we're bothered by the cold, back home."

"Is it not cold there?" Elsa asked him. She'd thought that the Viking areas were up north, and theoretically it should be very cold there.

"Quite the contrary." Hiccup replied cheerily. "It's _freezing_. It snows nine months of the year, and hails the other three."

"But then, why?"

"I laughed because up there, dealing with the cold is the first thing we learn as children. Personally, the cold never bothered me anyway. When I was younger, it wouldn't be surprising to see me running around in a sleeveless tunic, causing havoc." Chief Hiccup said, his tone wistful, and a faraway look in his eyes.

Elsa's mind shut down midway through his reply, and a rush of heat rose up to her cheeks. _'The cold never bothered me anyway'_ rang through her mind. If Chief Hiccup noticed her reddening cheeks, he didn't say anything. He kept on speaking, and it took Elsa a few seconds to focus back into what he was saying.

"... not to say that we don't get sick if we're not careful, you understand."

Elsa coughed, and, before she embarrassed herself any further, changed the topic. "Tell me more about your provinces, if you would, Chief Hiccup." She asked as they moved forwards Hiccup looked up from his horse to gaze at her.

"Berk?" he asked her, and she nodded.

"What is there to say about Berk?" He asked rhetorically, in the tone of someone gathering his thoughts. "Berk is the name of our main village, which is in an island, far to the north. Technically, our territory covers several islands around the island of Berk. It's full of jutting mountain peaks, steep cliffs, granite formations, and rocky hills. I'm not sure what else to tell you, actually, I guess you have to see it to feel it."

"I ... see." And even though what he told amounted to almost nothing, Elsa could, sort of, see. Freezing environment always appealed to her. She was at home in her castle, certainly, but she'd been equally at home at the top of the north mountain. She did have to give it to him though. A satisfying reply that gave away nothing that could be used against them.

"You must forgive my curiosity," she told him politely, "but we of Arendelle have not seen dragons for centuries. Are they a common occurrence in your lands?"

She watched his face like a hawk, and she was not unrewarded for her vigil. He went completely still in his saddle for a second, before he schooled his features in a mask of carefully cultivated neutrality.

"Is ice magic a common occurence in yours?" He shot back.

"As far as I know, I am the only one." She replied honestly, taking hidden delight at his surprised expression. He didn't think that she would reply so easily, but Elsa knew that he would know anyway as soon as they reached Arendelle. Her nature was no secret to the populace. She didn't know if Chief Hiccup believed her, but he nevertheless rose to the challenge.

"Toothless is a Night Fury," he informed her, though his tone was guarded and carefully collected. Elsa found the name to be quite ... accurate. "and as far as I know, there is no other Night Fury in all the lands I had traveled in."

_So he must be the only dragon rider,_ Elsa thought. Which made him equally as unique as she was to Arendelle. She wasn't sure what to think of that. He was the leader of his people, and from what little she knew, could relate with her on some respects. And then there was ... _no_!

She shook her head, to chase away those thoughts. She could still feel the sting of his knife on her throat, the harshness on his voice as he threatened to kill her. The sight of his steel arrow, inches away from piercing her brain. No, she should always keep her guard up, and her magic in preparation.

Although, he _had_ spared her.

She should wait until they reach Arendelle before she makes any sort of judgement, she decided. Until then, she would watch this Chief Hiccup, and glean as much information as she could. It was not completely out of the realm of possibility that this was a ploy, to spy on the inner workings of her kingdom.

"Can I ask you a personal question, Chief Hiccup?"

"You may. I cannot guarantee a reply, however." Elsa tipped her head ever so slightly in acceptance.

"What happened to your leg, if you don't mind me asking?"

Chief Hiccup looked at said prosthetic, looking pensive. Elsa could recognize the look of a person looking back.

"There was a battle." He eventually said.

"The same one that gave you the scar on your cheek?"

"No."

Not very informative, but it had an air of finality, and Elsa knew that she would get nothing else out of him.

"I hope you can tell me one day." Surprising even herself, she meant it. Chief Hiccup looked at her appraisingly, and Elsa met his gaze evenly.

"One day, maybe I will." He allowed, which was more than she had any right to expect.

The atmosphere had turned decidedly somber, and Elsa did not like that.

"It's your turn." She told him. He looked back up at her, mildly surprised.

"Excuse me?"

"It's your turn to ask me a question. It is only fair."

"I suppose ..."

"So, go ahead."

"How old are you?"

"That's it?" Elsa asked, looking at him sideways. "That's your question?"

"Yes it is."

"Fine, twenty one. How come you're traveling alone?"

"I'm not alone, I have Toothless. How come you're traveling all the way over here at all?"

_Curse this man and his weaseling!_ She inwardly fumed. He'd made her waste a question. "I'm taking a walk, so to speak. The castle can get a bit stuffy at times. Why are you traveling so far away from your people?"

"For the same reason you're taking your strolls, I suppose. I need a break sometimes, and having a dragon means my strolls can take me pretty far away. Are you an only child?"

"I have a sister, two years younger. How long have you been gone from Berk?"

"A month already. Do you have a pet?"

"No I don't. I have a talking snowman, if he counts. How can you be away for so long? Doesn't Berk need you, as its chieftain?"

This time Haddock took his time in reply, taking his time to formulate it in his head, first. Elsa gave him his time, seeing as they had several days.

"I take care of everything before I leave, and I trust the people I leave in my stead to keep the peace until I am back. Can you help me orient myself, with a map or something similar? I'm afraid me and Toothless are quite lost."

"Certainly. We'll take care of that as soon as we get to the castle. What about your wife, then? Won't she get worried if you go gallivanting on your dragon for months?"

Chief Hiccup actually scowled, and Elsa froze. She cursed herself inwardly for her forwardness and nosiness. But it was so _easy_ to forget that he was a chief, equal in status to her. He looked nothing like the various royals that visited her kingdom over the years from neighboring kingdoms. He was dressed like a warrior, he had a prosthetic foot, traveled alone and _he rode a dragon_. It was hard to treat him like she had treated everyone else, and her curiosity was driving her mad.

"No wife waiting at home, though plenty of people to worry." Chief Hiccup eventually said. Elsa flushed in embarrassment, cursing her lack of tact again and again.

"My apologies, Chief Hiccup. It's just that as a leader, it is usually expected to take a spouse and establish a line." Chief Hiccup tipped his head in acknowledgement of this.

"True, but this is not the case with me."

"Fair enough."

"What about you, then? Is there a King out there, worrying his beard off that his Queen might freeze to death?" Elsa took a few seconds to process this, and finally come to the conclusion that part of it was, in fact, a joke. Maybe? She resisted the urge to snap at him that this hypothetical King would not need to worry about her freezing. She had to try to be cordial.

"No, I am not wed."

"By choice, or lack of suitors?" This time, Elsa did not stop herself from glaring at him. His amused expression did nothing to ease her irritation. So she had not imagined it earlier, he really _was_ mocking her appearance! This .. this ... _viking_!

"I'll have you know that kings, princes and people from all countries within travelling distance have asked for my hand. I simply have not decided yet."

"Well, I hope you pick carefully." He said, and his words may have been supportive, but his tone again had this slightly doubtful and mocking vibe.

She didn't offer any more questions, and he did not either. Eventually, when it became apparent that he would not ask anything else, she spoke.

"No more questions?"

He shook his head. "Not from me."

"I have to apologize once again for my conduct today." She forced herself to say. If she couldn't hold herself from being improper, she could at least apologize for it. "It has been most unbecoming from a person of my position, especially when directed at a person of _your_ position."

At least it had the result of amusing Chief Hiccup, who let out a chuckle, and smiled. By now, Elsa had given up trying to guess his reactions to anything.

"Do not worry, please. I know of several people whose attitude would be many times improved by adopting your worst manner of conduct."

Had she just been compared to _Vikings_? She caught that thought, and admonished herself for it. A leader could not afford to judge like this. But still, she was not sure if she should take this as a compliment or not.

The silence stretched, and Elsa knew that their conversation was over. She was surprised when she noted the sun's position. Several hours had passed since they had started on the journey back to Arendelle.

They stopped for lunch, and they ate in silence, the cold and the harshness of the journey making everyone want to preserve their strength. Elsa saw the dragon, who had been following them from above, land on the nearby woods. Chief Hiccup excused himself and went to the woods to him. Elsa let him go, and an hour later, he came back, and they took off again.

This time, Chief Hiccup left her side at the head of the procession, and let himself fall back to its end. There, he exchanged occasional words with the soldiers in charge of the supply horses, but Elsa saw nothing of him for the remainder of the day.

When the sun was going down, she decided that it was time to make camp. Her entourage left the beaten path and headed for the trees, pulling out fabrics and setting up tents next to the woods.

Elsa looked skywards. Even now, the Night Fury was circling them, so high above that all she could see was a speck in the sky, but it was there. She led her horse towards Chief Hiccup as her soldiers set up their tents, with hers in the middle of camp, while others went in search of firewood. The Chief was looking at the working men with obvious interest.

"We will find you a tent, Chief Hiccup." She told him as she approached and stopped her horse next to his. "We always carry spare fabrics in case some get lost or torn."

"I appreciate the thought, but I won't need it."

"You carry your own tent?"

"Not exactly. I guess ... sort of. I could show you?" He offered, his voice unsure. Elsa was confused, but nevertheless nodded. At her nod, the Chief dismounted, and gave the reigns to the soldier waiting for them.

"Follow me." He said, waiting for her to dismount. She did so, with much more grace than he did, she noted inwardly, and her own horse was collected to be fed and watered.

"Where are we going?" She asked him as he started walking, entering the woods and weaving between the trees.

"We're looking for a decent sized clearing. Somewhere for Toothless to land."

Now, Elsa understood. "Come this way." She said briskly. She knew this side of the mountain quite well, and knew there was a clearing less than three minutes walk, eastward.

Chief Hiccup followed her without complaint, and sure enough, Elsa lead him to the clearing. The Chief inspected it carefully, and nodded, more to himself than to her. He looked up and squinted, spotting the black spot that was Toothless up in the sky. The sun had set, and the faint light was leaving, as well. Soon, it would be completely dark.

Chief Hiccup removed a leather glove, and brought his, now free, fingers to his mouth. A piercing whistle reverberated around the clearing, at first long but then cutting with a sharp note. Elsa could recognize a summons when she heard one. She looked up, and sure enough, the dark spot was approaching rapidly, growing bigger and bigger until she could make out the dragon's shape. It was free falling, its wings closed to its sides! When it showed no signs of cuttings its fall, even when it had nearly reached the ground, she threw a worried glance at the Chief, but he seemed relaxed if a bit exasperated, so she stopped worrying. Clearly, the dragon had everything under control.

Indeed, the dragon opened its wings, catching the wind, and cut its fall. It still landed heavily, the ground shaking as he all but crashed onto it, but the dragon shook its head and bounded to Hiccup like nothing had happened.

Chief Hiccup released that deep, genuine laugh again, and laid his hand on the Night Fury's head. Dragon and rider closed their eyes, and Elsa had the awkward feeling that she was intruding in a very personal moment.

The moment was broken, and now the Chief was scratching the dragon's head and speaking softly to it.

"Did you hunt, bud? Have you eaten?"

The dragon warbled, and it seemed to be a satisfactory reply to the Chief, for he nodded. "Well," he said, "this is where we're crashing tonight, so get comfortable."

With a happy gargle, the dragon began pacing the clearing. When it passed by Elsa, she stiffened and got out of its way, but the beast paid her no mind, sniffing and padding the ground. To Elsa's fascination, the Night Fury plopped itself into the ground and curled its tail around itself, laying its head on its front paws like an overgrown cat. One of its wings settled on the ground next to him, but the other remained aloft.

"That's my que." Chief Hiccup said, and to Elsa's further astonishment, he settled himself on the dragon's side, with his hands behind his head and let out a soft, tired sigh.

"You sleep in your armor?" She couldn't help but ask. The Chief opened one lazy, green eye to look at her.

"It's a useful habit when traveling in the wild. We need to be ready for anything."

"Oh. I see."

"Was there anything else?" The Chief prodded lightly. Elsa bristled under the obvious dismissal, but reigned her temper, knowing that he was more tired than her, and it was time to rest.

"We will arrive in Arendelle the day after tomorrow." She informed him.

"Very well. Goodnight, Queen Elsa." With that final goodbye, the dragon's wing lowered, beginning to cover the Chief completely.

Elsa was about to turn to leave, but as she did so, something stopped her. "Chief Haddock." She called out, voice a little higher than she would have liked. "Hiccup." She called again, without realizing it. The wing stopped, and only the Chief's head was still visible. He was looking at her, askance.

"_Thank you_ ... for sparing my life."

His eyes widened a little, but he gave her a serious nod, and Elsa inwardly sighed in relief. The wing covered the Chief, and she turned to leave. She didn't know what exactly led her to do this, but she was thankful that it happened.

Mindlessly, Elsa went about her routine, entering the tent that had been set up for her. She undressed, wore her nightgown, and after washing her face settled on the furs, to sleep.

Her sleep that night was restless. Her dreams were full of darkness and fire.

She was once again thrown on the ground, but the snow was black rather than white. The rider was on her once again, but this time the knife was pressing a little deeper, drawing a line of blood rather than a single drop. The rider himself was distorted, almost a caricature of his true self. He was talking, but his voice sounded very harsh to Elsa, and she couldn't understand what he was saying. The eye slits of his helmets were glowing a fiery red, and smoke was rising out of them.

She turned her head to look in the blackness to her left, and two pairs of demonic green eyes opened in the void. A maw of razor sharp teeth opened, and an unholy screeching filled the air. As the blue fireball headed towards her, Elsa finally found her voice, and _screamed_.

She woke up screaming, hands throwing the furs off of her, eyes looking around herself wildly. She was panting harshly, and perspirating heavily.

"My Queen, is everything alright?" Her captain called from outside the tent, reluctant to get inside to check. Elsa had enough presence of mind to reassure him that yes, everything was alright, and that yes, she would come out for breakfast soon.

She ate with her soldiers, but did not see him at breakfast. She assumed he had his own private breakfast with his dragon, as he must have for however long he's been travelling.

She was about to head into the woods to retrieve him, when she saw the shape of the dragon take flight from above the trees. So she waited and sure enough, Chief Hiccup burst from the foliage, a pleasant smile on his face. He must have found a nearby stream, for his hair was wet and clinging to his head. If he was feeling cold by being wet on the northern mountains, he didn't show it. Her mind's eyes supplied her with an image of him with fiery red, smoking eyes, and she repressed a shiver.

They exchanged pleasantries, and the procession mounted again. Like yesterday evening, he spent most of the day at the end of the entourage. The people he'd spoken with the day before had opened up a bit, and were now having an actual discussion, though Elsa did not know what they were talking so animatedly about. Stealing glances behind her every ten minutes, she couldn't help but feel jealous of these soldiers, with whom the Chief was talking so freely while she had to labor to coax every word out of him.

They stopped for lunch, and though the Viking chief ate with them, he left midway, no doubt to reunite with his dragon. He was back before everyone was ready to leave again, however. Elsa had given up hope of another discussion with him, and the Viking had surprised her once again when he rode faster and caught up with her. She suspected that him doing the opposite of what she expected was going to become a pattern.

He nodded at her in greeting, and the focused on the road ahead of him. He was a fast study, Elsa noted, in that he got used to the horse pretty quickly, but it still required concentration from him, when it was second nature to her.

They didn't speak, and Elsa respected his silence when he was busy taking in the environment around them. They were slowly but surely approaching the roots of the mountains. Soon, they would cross the hills surrounding Arendelle, and after that, it was a few hours' ride.

The sun was going down, they had no more that a couple hours light left to the day. Elsa's watching of Chief Hiccup bore interesting results. If he noticed her watching him, he didn't say anything, but Elsa would bet that he hadn't, because his neck was straining to take in everything around him. The sky had cleared from the blizzard of two days ago, and the beauty of the north mountain was visible to all.

"Is it not at all similar to Berk?" she asked him, after he had been staring at a faraway mountain peak for ten minutes straight. His head whipped to her, and his gloved fingers found the braid on his hair on what was clearly a habitual, if not nervous, move.

"Our mountains are much more ... rocky, I suppose. They climb almost vertically, to the point where to climb them is nearly impossible."

"You travel a lot?" Elsa asked with interest. He didn't seem indifferent to his duty from what little she saw of him, so his wandering lifestyle, and the balancing act between it and his responsibilities, interested her greatly.

"Whenever I can." He nodded at her. "I love Berk, and I would do anything for it and my people, but traveling has always been my passion. It is only recently that I have been able to indulge, however."

"Your passion, huh?" He looked at her, and her smile must have puzzled him. His perplexed expression only made her smile wider.

"Mine and Toothless'. He does his best to not show it, but I can feel him get restless as the months pass and we stay always on the same place. He loves Berk, too, but it is in his nature to wander."

"How did you and Toothless end up ... friends?" She forced the word out of her mouth. She had seen enough evidence of their partnership, but it still seemed unbelievable to her.

"Long story." He tried to shake it off. Elsa raised an eyebrow, pointing to the empty, snowy road ahead of them.

"We've got time."

"Too long for the road," he insisted. _Oh no, you're not getting away that easily._

"Make it short, then." He shot her a look between a glare and a warning, but nevertheless replied, after taking a minute to think of a proper reply.

"I shot him down." Elsa did not know what she was expecting, but this was certainly not it.

"What?"

"I created a machine to bring down dragons. You see, at the time, Toothless was the greatest menace of our tribe. I tested the prototype of my machine on him. It worked. That's when he lost his tailfin." He said, voice laden with sorrow over his friend's loss, even after what Elsa assumed was years. Despite herself, she found herself drawn into the tale.

"And then what happened?" She encouraged him.

"I let him go."

"You simply ... let him go? Even though, as you said, he was your village's number one enemy?"

His face darkened, but he nodded nevertheless.

"You weren't supposed to do that, were you?"

He shook his head. "No. Everyone else in my tribe would have killed him if they'd found him tied up in the woods."

"It makes sense. Why didn't you?"

Elsa realized that she must have crossed some line when he levelled a dark glare her way.

"Take care of what you say, Queen Elsa. It is that exact attitude that spared your life yesterday."

To that, Elsa had no reply. At least, none that she thought Chief Haddock would find satisfactory.

Instead, she looked ahead, in the distance between the white hills.

"Welcome, Chief Hiccup." She called, still looking ahead. The Chief followed her gaze, and only now did she steal a look at him. The look of utter awe on his face was worth all the harsh words until now.

In the distance between the hills, the city of Arendelle shone like a jewel under the evening sun. The bustling city, the sprawling castle, and the port filled to capacity with huge merchant ships and warships. It was still almost a full day's travel, but they could see it.

She extended her arms forwards, as an artist might present his latest masterpiece.

"To Arendelle."

**~E~**


	3. Chapter 3

**.**

**~~HE~~**  
**A Chance Encounter, Chapter 3**  
**~~HE~~**

Hiccup could not help it, he stared. There was awe evident in his features by the widening of his eyes, or the way his mouth lay half-open.

"Is it as impressive up close as it is from afar?" Out of the corner of his eye, he caught her smirk slightly.

"Even more." And, Odin help him, he believed her.

He'd seen a few cities in his travels before, but none like this. None as big, or with buildings as tall, or with a harbor so extensive, or with ships so large. And the ships! They looked gigantic, even from up here, much bigger than his own drakkar warships. His eyes moved from the massive ships to the castle. It's walls were practically gleaming, and it was situated on a small island in the port. He'd seen a couple of castles before, but they were nothing but forts. Stone walls and a gate to protect the garrison inside. This, this looked majestic. A fitting residence for royalty.

Hiccup belatedly realized that his mouth was hanging open, and closed it with a thump, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, running his braid between his fingers. Queen Elsa let out a low chuckle, but Hiccup didn't think she was mocking him. It sounded lighthearted.

"It all looks very impressive. I have to admit, the ships did the biggest impression."

"They're even bigger up close." Elsa informed him.

"Let's get moving then!" Hiccup said, unable to contain his excitement, his anger over their previous discussion forgotten. "I want to see _everything_."

The procession started moving again, and Hiccup found his spirits lifted. Though he'd known that he was heading to the capital of Queen Elsa's kingdom, only after actually seeing it did it finally register. He knew that the mainland was very different from his own lands, but this place couldn't be more different from Berk if it tried.

He looked up, finding Toothless above in the clouds. His heart ached to be up there with him, but this was necessary. He knew how much the dragon disliked flying by himself, and it never ceased to amaze him. It had taken quite a while for him to be convinced that Toothless wasn't doing it just to be nice. But no, for some reason, the amazing Night Fury had gotten so used to flying with Hiccup's aid that anything else seemed alien and wrong to him.

Odin bless his big, draconian heart. What would he do without him?

"I'm assuming your people will be as accommodating of Toothless as you have been?" He asked the Queen as he looked at her, faint traces of sarcasm on his tone. He saw her flinch, and mentally patted himself on the back. Maybe rubbing it in her face was wrong, but she deserved it, and maybe this way she'd get used to the dragon's presence faster. Her distrust of his companion was getting _really_ old _really_ fast.

"I will take care of that issue." She responded, and turned her head back, motioning for one of her soldiers to move forward. Once the horseman was next to the Queen, she addressed him.

"Run ahead of us, get to the castle as fast you can. Inform my sister that we will be arriving in the morning with Chief Hiccup Haddock of the vikings, along with his dragon Toothless, who are _both_, my guests. Tell her to spread the word, too. I want civility when we arrive."

"Yes, my Queen."

With this, the horseman kicked the sides of his horse, and they took off down the path in a gallop. Soon, they were out of sight. Hiccup looked at the Queen, and she had a faintly smug expression about her. For a moment, her horse was replaced by a Deadly Nadder, and Elsa was replaced by another blond, smug expression in place as she teased him.

He shook his head, not willing to let such thoughts get to him.

"Is Toothless domesticated?" She suddenly asked, and he scowled.

'_Domesticated_?' He fumed inwardly.

"Toothless is not a pussycat, or a pet dog." He snapped at her. She was taken aback at the force in his voice, and he forced himself to take a deep breath and relax.

"Apologies, Queen Elsa, for taking out my anger on you. You are not the correct recipient for it."

Elsa studied him for a few seconds, before speaking neutrally. "Apology accepted, Chief Hiccup. My phrasing was very poor, I now understand. Let me rephrase. Can Toothless navigate buildings without making a mess?"

'_Much better_,' Hiccup approved, but didn't say it. Instead, he let his expression soften even more. He really had been frowning a lot lately. Separation from Toothless was making him snappy.

"If I explain to him that he must behave, he will behave."

"Is your constant presence required for his good behavior?"

Hiccup again had to remind himself that Queen Elsa knew nothing about dragons besides old tales, and that it was sensible of her to be asking such questions. He did not let his anger resurface.

"Toothless is very intelligent, he does not attack humans randomly. Likewise, he will not attack pets or flocks. However, the sight of weapons make him uneasy, and defensive. Any move that could be seen as aggressive should be avoided."

Queen Elsa nodded, and Hiccup assumed she filed the knowledge away for later perusal and use.

Hiccup took some time to study Queen Elsa, who was casually looking anywhere but him. He didn't really expect to know her after a single day, but he had no idea what to think of her. She gave him so many mixed signals, she'd have given his father a run for his money.

First she tried to kill them without so much as a 'How do you do'. Then, she was tripping all over herself and practically begging him to allow her to make up for it. She tried to be cordial with both him and Toothless, but Hiccup could see that she hated the dragon. And at times, she would look at him and flinch, her eyes widened and unfocused, and Hiccup won't know what to make of that.

Well, at least she seemed fairly interesting. He would stay at the castle for as long as he was entertained or found things interesting, and so far things looked promising. _Her beauty has nothing to do with it_, he thought to himself turning once again to look the profile she presented him, light blond braid falling over her shoulder and a small smile playing on her lips, _but it is definitely a plus_.

The rest of their journey for the day ended soon, after the sun dipped, and they made camp in a field that had almost no snow. They had well and truly left the mountain behind by now.

Green was all around them now, with the occasional splash of white. Gentle forests sprawled over the edges of the road, and the soft song of a dozen different birds reached their ears, melodious and soothing.

Above them, the sky was clear, with only the traces of clouds left. The winds were changing. Winter was leaving Arendelle behind.

Hiccup looked back and saw the towering forms of the mountains, and vowed to himself that he and Toothless would explore them better in the coming days, hopefully blizzard-free.

The camp was set up, and everyone sat around the newly created fire to have their dinner, which was not much, but still more than Hiccup was used to. Stew, bread, and wine the likes of which he'd never had before. He wasn't complaining.

He was sitting next to the Queen, with the captain on a log opposite them. Hiccup knew the captain didn't like him, but didn't let it bother him. From the looks he was throwing him and the Queen, he wasn't sure if he disliked him more for trying to kill them or for having such a casual attitude with the Queen.

Honestly, Hiccup had no idea what the protocols for dealing with the Queen were, but he wasn't going to go out of his way to lick her boots. He would be respectful and he always was to people who deserved it, and so far Queen Elsa, despite his misgivings, appeared to belong in that category.

"How much more until the city?" Hiccup asked her over his stew, turning to look at her. He'd caught her mid-bite, and she stopped upon hearing his voice, piece of bread halfway in her mouth. Hiccup repressed a snort as she bit down, chewed, swallowed, and only then turned to look back at him.  
He could see traces of annoyance for interrupting her dinner, or at least not waiting until she could speak. Getting a rise out of her was the most fun he'd had while in the ground, and he didn't think he'd stop anytime soon. He'd figure her out, sooner or later.

"Not more than five hours, after we leave in the morning." She replied, and very deliberately took another bite out of her bread, glaring at him and daring him to interrupt her again. He guffawed and rose his hands, palms open in a show of non-aggression. He saw the edge of her mouth upturn, and declared a victory.

"I think it would be better if Toothless walked in with us, when we arrive. It'd be better if the people saw the two of us together from the start, and it will be more convenient than having to call Toothless down later." He told her, once he was sure she wasn't eating anything.

She took the time to consider this, chewing softly and staring blankly ahead, and Hiccup let her, finishing off his stew and setting the bowl down.

"Alright. The problem with the mounts still stands, however. We will stop a mile outside the city, and send the horses ahead. You will call upon your dragon, and we walk the rest of the way. How does that sound?"

"Perfect, Queen Elsa." Indeed, he approved. The populace would see Toothless sooner rather than later, and thus save some problems down the line. "I have to warn you though, there have to be no aggressive moves from the crowd, or things could get ... complicated."

"I assure you that my subjects can and will be civilized, considering the notification I sent ahead."

She seemed certain of this, but Hiccup was less so. He didn't speak his doubts, however, for it was late and he was not in the mood for another confrontation.

"I will take my leave then. I will call Toothless to the other end of this field, it should be far away for the horses not to get scared."

Queen Elsa looked at him, and nodded. "Goodnight, Chief Hiccup."

"Goodnight." Hiccup called over his shoulder as he walked away, raising a hand. He nodded to some of the soldiers he'd been talking to yesterday and today, discussing saddles and different loading practices.

Once at the end of the grassy field, he brought his fingers his mouth and whistled. Toothless appeared not long after, landing heavily and pouncing on him. Hiccup laughed at the dragon's enthusiasm, and took the time to scratch him at his favorite spots, as well as clean some blood on his mouth from his unfortunate dinner.

Hiccup let Toothless burn the ground to get settled, and untied the sword from his belt, placing it along with his helmet next to the place he would lay on. He guessed that they were drawing weird looks from the soldiers at the other end of the field, but they'd have to get used to it eventually. Rider and dragon fell into a deep slumber, comfortable next to each other as nowhere else.

His dreams were, like last night, filled with snow. Sometimes it was the light snow of a lazy sunday morning, others it was the terrifying blizzard that nearly claimed their life. Hiccup was well and truly sick of the color white by the time he woke up.

He was woken up by a nudge from Toothless, who had not moved even though he'd been awake for a while. Hiccup heard footsteps approach, and shuffle uncertainly for a few seconds.

"Chief Haddock, sir? Are you awake?" It was one of the soldiers. Hiccup roused, and Toothless raised his wing to allow him exit. Hiccup saw the soldier visibly shake at his proximity to the dragon, but paid him no mind. It was too early for this.

"What is it?" He grumbled, rising to his feet and rubbing his half-open eyes with his hand. He had the distinct feeling that his hair was a disaster. Proof of this was Queen Elsa's weird look, and subsequent guffaws, all the way from her camp.

He scowled, and focused back on the soldier. He thought he'd caught the word 'breakfast' somewhere in there, so he simply nodded. The soldier scrambled away, doing his best to not appear as to be doing so. Hiccup did not care. He turned to the saddlebags, cleaning his face with some water, and running his wet fingers through his hair, trying to at least bring them to a respectable shape. Then, he put some water through his mouth, before spitting on the ground. He took a leaf of mint, and popped it in his mouth, enjoying the strong flavor.

He looked towards the camp, only to see Queen Elsa berate the soldier who'd woken him up for one reason or another. She'd obviously sent him to wake him, so what she could be scolding him for he had no idea, nor the inclination to find out.

"Hey bud," he said to Toothless, running his hand through his pristine scales. The dragon turned, and nudged his snout into his chest. "Good morning to you too."

He strapped his helmet on the saddlebags, certain that he would no longer need it. He tied his sword around his waist, and put his gloves back on.  
"Here's the plan. You go find yourself something juicy for breakfast, okay? Then, in about four hours, find us. I'll signal you when it's time to come down. It will be after the horses go away. And no, you are still not allowed to eat any. That would be terrible manners."

Toothless grumbled through his teeth, ears flat on his neck.

"Honestly. You're the Chief's dragon. Try to act like it, eh?" He was rewarded for his cheek with a swift smack from the dragon's tail, which sent him sprawling to the ground on his back. He glared at Toothless from his position, and the mischievous dragon only did his imitation of laughter, a repeated, throaty sound that admittedly sounded exactly like the real thing. Hiccup had yet to figure out if the sound was natural or of it was, in fact, an imitation of the human sound.

"Just for that, I'm reducing your fish baskets to two."

This had an immediate reaction from the Night Fury, who let out an indignant cry and growled at Hiccup, teeth bared and eyes narrowed. Hiccup was not intimidated. He rose to his feet, and made a show of dusting himself off.

"Apologize, and I may reconsider." He offered. Toothless closed his maw, and stared at him. Eventually, the staring contest broke, and the dragon looked downward, ears pressed flat on his head, and a pitiful sound rose from his throat. Hiccup patted him on the snout.

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it? We're back to three baskets, now. See, apologizing always works."

With that helpful tip, Hiccup turned and started walking towards the camp. He had not expected the blow that came at him. He felt the blow from Toothless' tail at his back, and the next thing he knew he was spitting dirt, laying face first on the half-snow half-mud ground.

Behind him, the Night Fury was having a fit of what Hiccup could only assume was laughter. He had lied down flat on the ground, covering his head with his forepaws, and letting out the hacking sounds of his amusement again, this time much more intensely.

His brow twitched in annoyance as rose to his feet again. He probably deserved that, but he would die before he'd let the already prideful dragon know.

"Bad dragon," he admonished, shaking a finger at the Night Fury, who was ignoring him. "Very bad dragon." He chanced a look towards the camp, and all color fled his face as he saw Queen Elsa, eyes undeniably boring into his own, trying and utterly failing to hide her laughter, a hand over her mouth.  
"I don't know how, and I don't know when, but I _will_ get you back for this. Just you wait. You'd better sleep with one eye open from here on out, you hear? If you think you'll get away with this by only losing a few fish baskets, you're sorely mistaken." He threatened the dragon, who was just now beginning to get himself under control.

"Get your ugly snout out of here. _Bad_ dragon!" Toothless rose to his feet, still laughing at him, and took to the air with a great leap.

Hiccup sighed, wishing that he did not have to go to the camp. He shook his head at this thought. He'd faced down vikings, dragons, giant dragons, and his own fears and insecurities. He shouldn't be intimidated because he made a fool of himself in front of a woman, right? _Right_?

"Quite the performance." Was the first thing Queen Elsa said to him, as soon as he reached their camp. He saw several soldiers try and fail to hide their smirks of amusement. He tried not to scowl too much.

"Thank you, thank you, I was trying. Good morning to you too."

Queen Elsa took pity on him, and passed him a piece of bread and cheese. He took them, nodding gratefully, and began to eat. Having seen the city, he did not doubt that the Queen could, if she so chose, to have practically everything she wanted for meals, even on the road. But Elsa didn't, instead going for the practical and the light. He could -and would- respect that.

He examined her a bit closer. Her braid was done in a different style today, though the differences were miniscule. She'd changed her clothes during the night. It was still a pretty similar ensemble, and still white, but this time there were quite a few blue pieces interwoven with the white ones, and even a hint of green at some fastenings. Her outfit would fit a hunter, albeit a horrendously rich and immaculately clean one. This, too, he approved.

He was suddenly thankful that he'd taken the time to clean his clothes on that stream he'd found earlier. Lighting two fires to keep him warm and dry his clothes had been easy, even if Toothless nagged him about it.

She caught him staring, and smiled. He averted his eyes, willing himself not to flush at such a rookie mistake. Again, she must have taken pity on him, for she did not comment or tease him about it. Is this what it felt like, to not be the only merciful person in the group?

Breakfast finished, the soldiers gathered up the tents and supplies, loading everything on the horses. They climbed on the mounts and were on the road again. Hiccup could feel the agitation in everyone, even the Queen. He could sympathize, there was nothing wrong with being eager to be back in one's home.

After an hour of traveling, they'd left all snow behind. The hills they were traversing were green and lush with vegetation. Arendelle, Hiccup noted curiously, was situated at the base of the hill, so that people were traveling uphill when leaving from the city. Around the city was the fjord, that spilled out to the open sea some ways away.

As they approached, he noted that Arendelle was not really as huge as he'd imagined it. Excluding the castle, the town couldn't be bigger than Berk. They were following quaint little dirt roads, carefully dug and zigzagging the hills, bringing them ever closer to the capital. Around them were a variety of empty fields, soon to be filled by working hands.

"Halt." Queen Elsa called, and the procession stopped. They couldn't be far away now, and even though a hilltop blocked their view of Arendelle, Hiccup knew they almost there.

"Dismount." Was her next command. All the soldiers complied, and ten of them gathered all the horses. Elsa waved them forward, and they left, following the twisting road until they were gone from sight. The remaining troops gathered in neat lines of three men across along the road, waiting for further instruction.

Hiccup noted that several of them were staring at the black dot that Toothless, up in the sky, getting progressively bigger as he approached them. Apparently, Queen Elsa saw them, too.

"Do not be ridiculous." She scolded them, and her voice carried easily all the way to the last soldier at the rear guard. "There is nothing to fear. The dragon will not harm us." She sent a hard look at him as she said it, and Hiccup repressed the urge to glower back.

What did she think? That Hiccup could not control the dragon? That Toothless _needed_ controlling in order to not go on a killing spree? He wasn't a captured wolf, barely brought to heel, for Odin's sake.

"Chief Hiccup and the dragon Toothless are our guests, and I want no skittishness around them, understand?"

A chorus of "Yes, Queen Elsa." responded to her, and she seemed satisfied. Just in time, too, for Toothless chose that moment to make his landing in front of her and Hiccup. Hiccup saw, through his peripheral vision, the captain stiffen, his hand resting on the pommel of his sword, but the older man did not make a move.

Toothless' landing had been more graceful than his other, careless ones, as if he understood that gentleness was key from now on. Hiccup walked and met the dragon halfway between them, rubbing his snout with his hand.

"Good boy." He murmured. "Here's what's going to happen now, and listen carefully, okay?" Once Hiccup was sure that he had the Night Fury's undivided attention, he continued. "You will walk next to me, yes, walk. We will enter the city. There are probably going to be a lot of people there, and you won't recognize any of them. Don't make any sudden moves, okay? They have never seen a dragon before, so they'll be afraid of you. Show them that they don't need to fear you."

At this, Toothless snorted, his prideful nature compelling him to imply that no, fear of him was not something to be avoided.

"Don't be such a beast." Hiccup scolded him. "We're going to be staying here for a while, and I don't want to deal with you scaring the stuffing out of people. You be on your best behavior when we're in the city or the castle, alright?"

Finally, Toothless relented, and let out a dismissive grunt. Hiccup, satisfied, turned to look at Queen Elsa. She was looking at him oddly, and he suddenly wanted to know how much of what he'd said she heard. Finally deciding it didn't matter, he nodded to her.

"We're ready."

"Alright, let's go."

They walked, Elsa and Hiccup side by side and Toothless next to Hiccup, close enough for him to rest a hand on the dragon's neck, extra insurance of the dragon's calmness. Toothless had gotten better with crowds over the years, but Hiccup mainly attributed this to him knowing the Vikings, and the vikings in turn treating Toothless as a member of their society. He was not sure if the presence of complete strangers would not discomfort Toothless to an aggressive state. Nevertheless, Hiccup trusted him, and his own ability to calm him down, if need be.

Idly, he scratched the dragon's neck as they walked. The ambling creature started purring from deep in his throat, eyes half-closing in pleasure, strange people forgotten.

"Chief Hiccup, may I ask you a question?" The Queen called from next to him. He turned to her, and graced her with an easy smile.

"I believe we've had this exchange before." She offered her own smile, and proceeded with her question.

"I've really tried not to ask. Believe me, I have, but it's been on my mind all morning. Please don't be offended."

"I sincerely doubt you would offend me, Queen Elsa. Ask your question."

"Why the name? Hiccup, I mean."

Hiccup blinked at her for a second, and then before he realized what he was doing he was laughing again. How many times did that make, now? He was having so much fun dealing with people outside of his tribe.

"I'm actually named after an ancestor." He replied once he controlled himself, not wanting to insult Queen Elsa. At least, not yet, and not so overtly.

"I remember you mentioned that you were the third, correct?"

"Correct. The first was the founder of Berk. The second ... let's not talk about the second."

"Well ... alright." He could tell she wanted to ask more, and the way she unconsciously bit her lower lip to stop herself was so cute, he had to stop himself from grinning.

"I know how it sounds but believe you me, it's not the worst. It's actually one of the better ones. Among the vikings, parents believe that a hideous name will scare off gnomes and trolls."

Queen Elsa cocked a delicate eyebrow, and Odin smite him if she didn't have it mastered to an art form.

"I don't think they'd be scared off by a name, personally."

"What would?"

His question and confusion made her look at him oddly.

"The trolls, of course."

"Trolls _ exist_?" He asked, louder than he'd intended to. He had to quickly school his surprised expression before he made a bigger fool of himself. To his even greater surprise, Queen Elsa started laughing Unlike his own, almost barking laughter, hers was melodious and seamless, like music.

"What's so funny?" He asked her once she had her laughing down to the occasional giggle. She looked at him, angling her head slightly to the right, a wide smile on her face.

"Apologies, Chief Hiccup. It just seemed quite peculiar that you ride such a creature of legend as a dragon, and the existence of trolls surprised you so." Describing it aloud must have made her realize some hidden aspect of humor to it, for she started laughing again. Thankfully, it was more controlled this time, and her hand covered her mouth.

Hiccup thought about it, and he had to give it to her.

"Alright, I admit, that _is_ kind of funny."

"Am I to assume that there are no trolls in Berk, then?"

"Not to my knowledge. Although there is someone who ..." he trailed off his question, looking at Elsa contemplatively. "What are trolls like?"

"Short creatures, humanoid in shape, can be disguised as rocks. We've had some dealings with them in the past. Lovely race, although ... excitable." Hiccup sensed much more hidden than what she'd let on, but perhaps this was a story he'd hear in the coming days.

They had now walked around the hill, and were following the downwards path towards the town that they could see, below. It was very impressive, and the castle looked even bigger the closer he got to it.

"They don't steal socks, by any chance, do they?" He asked. He had to know, once and for all. Queen Elsa looked at him oddly.

"Socks?"

"Left ones, to be exact."

"... not to my knowledge."

"Oh. Thank you for the information."

"You're very welcome."

They didn't say anything else, because they reached the outskirts of the town. Sturdy stone buildings became more and more common. With them, Hiccup had his first look at the people of Arendelle.

Small groups of people were gathered by the sides of the road to welcome their Queen back. No doubt, the rumors of the dragon had brought out even more than usual. Hiccup saw them, dressed in earthly colors, looking at the dragon in apprehension.

He would recognize the appearance of peasant anywhere. Berk did not have peasant in the sense of the lower class citizens, but they seemed to be prevalent almost everywhere else. Among the peasants were others, less in number but surprisingly plentiful, dressed in fanciful dresses and outfits of all colors, the luckier people of Arendelle. Purple, blue, red, they were all here. Hiccup, being from a society were practicality and ease of movement could make the difference between life and death, had never been able to understand these people.

The further in they went, they more people gathered around them. They were orderly, and no line of soldiers was necessary to hold them back. The closer they got to the castle, the rich people began to outnumber the peasants, until there were no more peasants on the crowds around them.

Hiccup didn't know how to feel about the fearful looks they sent Toothless, but the presence of the Queen next to him, perfectly calm, apparently was enough to soothe them.

Soon, the people got used to the sight of the onyx creature, and started cheering for their Queen, yelling welcomes, and Hiccup even heard his own name called a couple times.

He was almost overwhelmed by the crowd and before he knew it, they had reached the sea. He saw ahead of them the bridge that connected the town with the castle, and the great wooden gates wide open. Starting with the gate, there stood a pair of guards at each side, at intervals of five meters. If the guards were wary of Toothless, they didn't show it, standing rigid like statues. On the contrary, Toothless saw their raised halberds and crooned in discomfort. Queen Elsa turned to look at him, alarmed, but Hiccup patted the dragon's neck softly, and he calmed.

Hiccup's eyes caressed the castle, and he couldn't be certain that he wasn't swooning. The walls were built with sturdy stone and painted an earthly beige color. Left and right of the gate were towers, the roofs of which were painted light green. Along the length of the walls and in equidistant intervals, more towers sprang up, tall and proud.

The towers got progressively taller with every layer of walls, the closer one got to the center of the complex of buildings that comprised the castle, until the tallest tower that Hiccup had to crane his neck to see. Some of the deeper towers had carefully cultivated rose vines hanging around them, making for quite the fairy tale image.

Each tower bore the crest that Hiccup had seen on the armor and shields of soldiers. The golden yellow stylized crocus, emblazoned on a background that was purple on the left half and green on the right half. The crest was also on the stone above the gate, and each wall surface between turrets boasted a crest chiseled on it.

A lighthouse could be seen, tall and majestic, all the way from the other side of the castle.

Above them, on the ramparts, soldiers were already running around in what Hiccup assumed were their morning drills. He could see plenty of them standing rigid on their posts, bows or halberds carefully balanced over their shoulders.

They walked through the bridge with no problem, and then entered the gate. Hiccup tried to keep his staring to a respectable level, since he knew he had to make a good impression. He reminded himself that he'd have time to study the architecture of the place at his leisure, in the coming days.  
Through the gate was a wide courtyard, with fountains here and there. It was mostly empty, and various doors adorned the side walls. Here, Queen Elsa stopped, and Hiccup followed her example.

The Queen turned and addressed the captain. "This is it, captain. I appreciate the escort of you and your men. You may rest and return to your families. Dismissed, and take two days off duty."

"Yes, my Queen. Thank you, my Queen." The Captain replied, bowing deeply, before smartly turning on his heels and marching to one of the side doors, no doubt a barracks of some sort. The soldiers followed him, leaving Hiccup alone with Toothless and Elsa, and the guards posted along the walls of the courtyard. With a careful eye, Hiccup could spot what he could only assume was the royal crest of Arendelle practically _everywhere_.

Hiccup was trying to think of something to say, but the Queen wasn't looking at him. Hiccup followed her gaze, looking ahead and down.

"What's this? New friends? And a dragon, too!"

He blinked.

"Hi, I'm Olaf! I like warm hugs!"

In front of him stood a snowman. Relatively short, it was otherwise pretty generic, comprising of three spheres of snow with twigs for arms and a carrot for a nose. What was _unusual_ about it, was the wide smile on its face, the fact that it had its twig arms wide open, and the fact that it had _spoken_.

Keeping his face impassive, he turned to Elsa. She was regarding him carefully, he could tell she was greatly amused.

"Are you seeing this as well?" He asked, just to make sure flying for so long hadn't finally driven him mad. His comment finally broke the Queen's resolve, and she fell into a fit of giggles, which she endeavored to hide behind a hand.

"This is Olaf. He's our snowman friend."

While they talked, the snowman Olaf had decided that waiting for hugs was not going to cut it, and run the short distance between them, wrapping each tiny twig arm as far around Toothless' forepaw as it could.

Toothless peered down at the weird creature, and Hiccup could tell that, though he didn't feel at all threatened, he was very irritated by the snowy abomination. Indeed, Toothless' eyes had narrowed as he looked down at the thing hugging his limb. He looked up at Hiccup, and let out a low growl, baring his teeth.

Hiccup turned to Elsa. "Toothless wants to know if he can kill it." He informed her. She raised that perfectly proportioned eyebrow again, and smirked at him.

"Tell Toothless he is free to try."

Not giving any thought at to why she accepted, he turned back towards Toothless, who was looking at him expectantly. The little snow hellion had yet to release his paw. Hiccup jerked his head towards the thing and with savage glee, Toothless raised his foot, snowman still attached, and swiped it away. The snowman flew off, shrieking as he did so, and crashed against a nearby fountain. His three pieces scattered and rolled to different areas of the courtyard.

Hiccup frowned. Had they just killed the Queen's pet? That would certainly put a damper on things. He glanced at her, but she seemed not at all worried.

"Oh dear. I seem to be in pieces." Again that annoying voice! Hiccup whipped his head to look at the fountain, and the piece of snow that was the head was laughing while the part with the hands and the piece with the feet dragged themselves to it.

Hiccup brought his hand to his face and rubbed his eyes, feeling a headache would soon trouble him.

"Olaf, go now. You'll get the chance to meet Chief Hiccup and his dragon Toothless later. We've had a long journey and the Chief need to rest." He shot Queen Elsa a grateful look, and she returned it with a smile. She waved her hand and a small trail of frost erupted from it. It quickly reached the pieces of snowman. They rose to the air and formed a single body again.

Olaf patted himself to check he still had everything.

"Thank you, Queen Elsa. Goodbye, Chief Hiccup and dragon Toothless!" The little bundle of snow scampered off, vanishing amid the columns at the sides of the courtyard.

"Did you have something to do with ... _that_?" He asked her.

"I may have accidentally given him life."

Yup. Headache. Any second now.

"Right, okay. I'll pretend you didn't just say you accidentally gave life to something inanimate, and wait until we're somewhere more comfortable before the full horror of the realization sinks in. Alright?"

Queen Elsa laughed. _Actually_ laughed. She must have thought he was kidding.

"Fair enough, Chief Hiccup. Now, I think it's high time we went inside, don't you think?"

"Do we _have _to?"

Queen Elsa shot him a bright smile, not at all bothered by his petulance.

"Of course. I want you to meet my sister, Anna."

Hiccup looked at the inner gates of the courtyard that led deeper into the castle, feeling irrationally afraid. He sighed, and steeled his nerve.

"Right, let's go."

They walked the steps towards the double doors. Their wood was artistically carved in various depictions of climbing flora.

The guards posted next to the gate immediately opened each door in perfect synchronization, with bowed heads and murmurs of acknowledgement for their Queen.

Inside was a hallway. The wallpaper was a deep, wedged red that reached all the way to the high ceiling. Every three meters, chandeliers of three candles each lined the walls, though they were snuffed at this hour. The occasional suit of armor display desk completed the decor. All in all, it was a very warm and inviting place.

A group of people were waiting for them. Hiccup observed them very carefully as they walked towards him and the Queen. Their entrance had been noted and as soon as Elsa saw them, she stopped and allowed the group to approach them.

By this miniscule show of the pecking order, and by the clothes the group wore -the most extravagant yet- Hiccup assumed that these were members of Queen Elsa's government.

Hiccup quite enjoyed the fearful looks they sent Toothless, but none wavered in their step. That was something, at least. Toothless himself seemed to be having fun, because a look at his dragon companion revealed that the reptile had narrowed his eyes and was looking at the men and women like they were dinner. Hiccup knew Toothless was just messing with them, but _they _didn't.

They were five, three men and two women. One woman was relatively young, black hair caught in a delicate bun, and wore an elaborate yellow dress. The second woman was much older and, unlike the other female, her dress was much simpler, black in color with whites here and there, and wore ... something white and lacy around her head. Hiccup had never seen its likeness before.

The men were more clear cut. The first thing he noticed was the bald, aging man with what was obviously a military suit, made of fine green fabrics and a set of white gloves. The biggest giveaway must have been his hands, clasped firmly behind his back as he stood straight, in the presence of his direct superior. Or maybe the sword strapped to his waist might have given him out, fine. A general, no doubt.  
The second and third men were similar in their dress, looking just like the excessively dressed rich people outside. One of them wore a monocle but other than that, Hiccup's eyes slid right off of them.

"My Queen," began the man with the monocle. Hiccup's opinion of the man immediately dropped upon hearing his voice. High pitched, and almost oozing. "We welcome you back to the castle."

"Ministers, esteemed members of the Inner Council, thank you for this impromptu welcoming committee." Elsa replied, and Hiccup thought he heard a hint of apprehension in her voice. "It is good to see you all. However, I had been expecting my sister. Is she not in the castle?"

This time, the younger woman replied. "She is, your majesty. You just missed her. Our Ice Master returned shortly before you did and commanded her full attention," she said with a small smile playing on her face, and Hiccup saw Queen Elsa grimace slightly and shake her head.

"We will find her and our wayward official ice deliverer, not to worry. Well then, I will take my leave. I will see you all once court is in session, and properly introduce you all to Chief Hiccup, leader of the Vikings. We've had a long journey, and his has been even longer, so proper procedure will have to wait until he and the dragon Toothless have been properly rested."

Hiccup's opinion of the Queen skyrocketed.

The General took a step forward to address Elsa. "Of course we understand Chief Haddock's need for rest, and we will not impede it. However, your own presence is necessary now, my Queen."

Queen Elsa frowned at this. Hiccup would have to start taking notes on these eyebrows. They must be magical, somehow.

"What is this about, General Mertok, that it can't wait?"

"Your Majesty, the ambassadors from Corona, the Southern Isles, and Grandland are here. You need to speak with them, and soon. It is important."

The general's look towards Hiccup had been anything but subtle. Apparently, this was something not meant for his ears. Who would've thought. The Queen gave a nod, and turned towards the older woman.

"Gertrude, can you take Chief Hiccup and lead him to his quarters? Arrange for the best stables for the dragon Toothless, and-"

"Wait, did you say stable?" Hiccup asked, eyes narrowed. Queen Elsa closed her mouth and looked at him in confusion. Hiccup ignored the council, which were all, with the exception of the woman Gertrude, glaring at him for interrupting the Queen.

"Is it not appropriate lodgings?" She asked slowly, unsure. Hiccup shook his head.

"Not at all. Toothless is not a horse. I have told you before, Toothless goes where I go. I assume a room big enough for the both of us can be found?"

The Queen's confusion didn't clear, but that didn't stop her. She'd apparently learned to take his weird -to her- ways in stride.

"Alright. Gertrude, please lead Chief Hiccup and his dragon to their appropriate quarters."

Turning fully to him, she spoke. "Apologies for having to leave you alone so soon, Chief Hiccup. But as I'm sure a man of your position understands, duty calls. Get comfortable in your quarters, maybe rest a bit, and perhaps I will see you in the evening."

"That is acceptable." Hiccup nodded at her. She returned his nod and began walking briskly down the left hallway, the four members of her council following her, throwing the occasional glance at the dragon over their shoulders.

He and Toothless were left alone with Gertrude. Now that Hiccup gave her a more thorough once-over, he noted the way her shoulders leaned forward, or the way her head was tipped respectfully forward. This woman was no minister.

"This way please, Chief Haddock." She asked and started leading him to the right. Hiccup followed the woman through the set of doors at the end of the hall into another corridor.

"Excuse me if this is a rude question, but what exactly is your position here, madam Gertrude?" Hiccup asked the elder woman as respectfully as he could manage.

"I am the Head Supervisor of the castle's servants, my Lord. I have served Queen Elsa all her life, and her parents before her."

Hiccup absorbed this, and tried to pay attention to where they were going. They were crossing hallways and wide rooms, meeting the occasional staff along the way. They had obviously been instructed not to run for the hills at the sight of Toothless, but some were less successful in hiding their fear than others. He noted with satisfaction that Toothless had retracted his claws, and left no damage on the obviously expensive carpets. He'd hate to have to explain _that _to the Queen.

Ten minutes later and by the time they had climbed two sets of stairs, Hiccup was hopelessly lost and merely following Gertrude, hoping she didn't leave him alone to find his way out.

She stopped on a set of doors, similar to two other sets in this particular hallway. The doors were big enough that Toothless could fit through. Gertrude did exactly that, opening both doors wide open, and waved her hand towards the inside.

"Get comfortable, my Lord. Your bath has been arranged in the room beyond those doors over there, and someone will be here after that to show you around, answer your questions and generally be your guide during your stay here. Is there anything I could help you with right now?"

"No thank you, Gertrude. I think I've got it. It was good to meet you."

"And you, my Lord." Yes! He managed to draw a smile from her wizened features. She started ambling away, her slight limp becoming more noticeable when looked at from behind.

Hiccup followed the woman's progress with his eyes, a fond smile on his face. He liked this Gertrude. Perhaps he'd track her down later for a talk.

Moving inside, he closed the doors behind Toothless and inspected their new living quarters. They were enormous! It was almost as big as all the rooms of his family house on Berk put together. There would be no problem of space. On the far side, glass doors led to a wide balcony, something that Hiccup approved of immensely.

The room was decorated much the same way as the rest of the castle, with welcoming red and blue hues, plenty of candles to keep the place perfectly lit even in nighttime. What must surely have been four beds meshed together by a skilled carpenter stood to his left and, to his even greater joy, a big desk with a full writing set lay on a corner. Ink-pot, empty paper sheets, and even some books.

To his great disappointment, maintaining ink on any but the couple months of summer was impossible on Berk, hence his heavy reliance on charcoal. But no longer!

Through the set of doors was a bathroom, and it was full with strange and weird devices the likes of which he had never seen before. He recognized the bathtub at least, because of its telltale shape.

Never one to back down from discovering the quirks of something new, he decided that now would be a great time to take a bath.

He returned to Toothless, who had been dozing off on the tiles next to the already lit fireplace. He removed the saddlebags, placing them on one side, before getting to work on the dragon's harness. He removed the saddle and the tailfin, leaving the dragon devoid of anything he wasn't hatched with. Toothless crooned his thanks, and closed his eyes, his mouth curled in a soft, unconscious smile.

Hiccup smiled fondly at the Night Fury, and proceeded into the bathroom. He inspected the bathtub carefully. After brief tinkering he realized how it worked, with one lever releasing cold water and the other releasing hot. He closed the drain and set the water to flow in a combination of hot and cold that leaned heavily to the warmer side.

He moved towards the soaps, and there were so many of them! He recognized soap, but next to the tub there were also glass bottles filled with a sort of cream. He put some on his fingers and smelled it. It smelled very much like soap but, more importantly, it smelled _heavenly_. With a wide smile, Hiccup emptied half the glass bottle into the water. Immediately, it started to bubble over.

There was a chair, so he moved to that and started removing his clothes. He'd already placed his armor pieces with the saddlebags, so he removed the fur vest he wore underneath and then his tunic. His breeches and underwear soon followed, and he was left with nothing but his prosthetic.

With great care, he started unclasping the straps of his metallic foot. The harness, of his own design, reached all the way to his hip, and it took him the better part of three minutes to be removed safely. The metal contraption was placed next to his clothes, and he stood on one leg, holding onto the chair.

He hopped towards the tub, careful to not trip or slide, and checked the water. It was just the perfect temperature and there was a layer of bubbly soap above it. He cut the water flow and eased himself inside, holding onto the railing some genius had decided to place on the tub's interior.

With a soft sigh, he submerged his body into the water, easing his muscles. He closed his eyes, smiling contentedly. Maybe he could make something like this in Berk. Few Vikings took bathing to such a degree as he did, but even if no one used it other than himself, it would be worth it.

An unspecified amount of time later, the soft sound of footsteps made him open his eyes. Before he had time to ask anything, the door to the bathroom opened, and two servant girls walked inside. They wore short-sleeved dresses, and carried sponges and a bundle of fabrics with them.

As soon as he saw them, Hiccup scrambled to a sitting position, water flying everywhere as he struggled for words.

"What-, who-, how ... what are you _doing here_!"

The servant girls looked up at his frantic tone, and confusion settled in their features.

"My Lord," one spoke. "We are here for your bath. Did you not wish to have one?"

"Yes I did, and I don't see how that's any of your business! Leave, for Odin's sake."

"But my lord, this is our duty. We assure you that-"

"I don't give a dragon's claw what your duty is, _get out_!" He sincerely hoped his face was not as red as he imagined it would be as he lay in the water, trying and failing to cover himself with the bubbly soap.

The servant girl frowned at him. "My lord, we are professionals."

"_Out!_"

They mercifully took his subtle hint and, after a brief nod, left the bathroom, closing the doors behind them.

Hiccup collapsed back into the tub, letting out a deep breath, and groaned. He finished his bath soon after that, once his fingers started creasing, and gingerly lifted himself off the tub. He seated himself on the edge, and used the towel that sat next to the tub on a stool to dry himself.

He hopped back to the chair and his clothes, but all he saw was his prosthetic and a bundle of clothes that he'd never seen before.  
_  
When had they ... no matter. _

He took the time to readjust his prosthetic, and then inspected his new clothes. The undies were easy enough to figure out, and he placed then on in short order. The leggings were tighter than what he was used to, but they fit him and they were soft on the inside, though rigid on the outside. They were a soft brown color, woven with black thread at the sleeves and up to a point beneath the knees.

The tunic he was given was simple and light green, just how he liked them, but it was intricately woven with golden threads that would separate him from a crowd of peasants. The footwear was the most weird so far. Rather than the fur boots he was used to, he was given a pair of smaller, if no less snug, shoes made of hard leather.

He smirked. What was he supposed to do with the left one? In the end, he wore the right one and left the other one where he found it.

Dressed, he walked outside. Immediately he noticed the new arrival in his quarters. A young man, a few years younger than himself, blond hair cut short and styled to the left side, dressed in the white and blue uniform that on the way here he had learned to associate with the assistant staff.

"Greetings, my Lord."

"Greetings. And who might you be?"

"I am Arnod, and I will be your guide during your stay here." Hiccup was pleased to know that Arnod did not steal fearful glances at Toothless, neither was the dragon glaring at the young servant. By the looks of it, the Night Fury was sleeping.

Then again, who knows how long he had stood here, waiting for him. Maybe he and the onyx creature had reached a sort of agreement.

"Arnod," he said, tasting the name. "Do you mind if I call you Ernie, Ernie?"

Ernie blinked, and then bowed his head. "Not at all, my Lord."

"That's great, because I don't mind that you're going to call me Hiccup from now on, either."

"I am?" Ernie asked.

"You sure are."

"Very well, Hiccup."

"Good, good," Hiccup nodded encouragingly. "Finally some progress. Now, tell me what exactly it is you're going to be doing for me."

"Well, I am here to act as your guide and to answer any of your questions. I will be available to you most hours of the day. I have been given leave to show you around, give you a tour of the castle and the city, explain some of our history, etcetera."

"I see," Hiccup said, nodding. "Well, that's good, then. I was invited here by the Queen, but she had to leave unexpectedly and I'm starting to believe that this won't be a rare occurrence."

"Her Majesty the Queen is very busy, doing her very best to keep our great kingdom prosperous and happy."

"Yes, yes, I'm sure she is. Tell me, Ernie, what is there to do on Arendelle? What can you show me?"

"Well Hiccup, that's a very broad question. Do you have anything specific in mind? Something you'd like to see first?"

Hiccup thought about it, pursing his brow. What did he want to do first? On his very first day on a completely new and strange kingdom?

His eyes landed on the saddlebags and Toothless' harness. After a few seconds of contemplation, he smiled.

He turned towards Ernie, wide grin still in place.

"Say, Ernie," he asked, "Do you guys have a smithy?"

**~~H~~**

**End Notes:** If anyone has questions or would like a clarification, ask me in a review.


	4. Chapter 4

**Note**: I wasn't planning on releasing this so early, but I'm a good few chapters ahead, plus I'm not sure when I'll get a good chance to post it if I don't do so now.

Thanks to the guys at the DLP forums for helping with this.

**~HE~  
A Chance Encounter, Chapter 4**  
**~HE~**

Elsa sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She managed to plaster one last, incredibly fake smile on her face and direct it at the members of her council as they left, bowing their heads to her before exiting her office.

The orange light of the setting sun filtered in through the open window of her working space. Her gaze fell on the star itself, slowly falling behind the horizon. Her chair and desk was in front of the open window, so all she had to do was redirect her chair and she was gazing out over the fjord.

Her office was situated at the central building of the castle, a few floors below but still relatively close to her private quarters, which lay at the topmost tower. Her office was a relatively large room, sporting the same dark red wallpaper as the rest of the castle, but most of walls' surfaces were hidden by the ceiling high libraries that lined them. Opposite from the entrance was her great oaken desk, and behind it the wide window. On the sides of the room, a pair of couches waited for guests and a pair of padded chairs also rested in front of Elsa's desk. On the right side of the room lay another pair of doors, smaller, that led to a refreshing area.

Her light purple dress felt rumpled over her body, the white sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her hair felt unmade and she felt sweat slick her skin, even though she'd had a quick bath before the flurry of meetings began. It had taken her most of the day to bring the issues anywhere close to solved. At least she had the presence of mind to cancel court for today. She didn't think that she'd have been able to take it, otherwise.

She felt drained and mentally tired. She had to meet each ambassador separately, and then at least a dozen other meetings with all kinds of combinations of ambassadors and council members, ending everything with a meeting between herself and her ministers to recap the day. She had yet to speak to Anna, she had no clue what mischief Olaf had unknowingly undertaken, and the gods only knew what Chief Hiccup and his dragon were up to in her absence. She'd have to deal with all of them before she got any semblance of rest. She didn't know who she preferred to tackle first.

A soft knock was heard on the door of her office, and the door opened slightly, not waiting for a reply. Her sister's face poked in, scanning the room for the Queen.

Well, the choice was just taken out of her hands. The first fell right into her lap.

"Yes, Anna, come in." She said, rolling her eyes with a soft smile. Her sister had the good grace to blush. She was wearing a dress matching Elsa's own, though with soft brown and light yellow as its choice of colors. Her brown hair was held up in a braid not dissimilar to Elsa's own.

"Sorry." She mumbled as she closed the door and walked closer. Elsa rose and walked around her desk, accepting her sister's brief but affectionate hug. The two sisters smiled at each other, years of pent up emotion spoken in the silence between them. Holding hands, they walked over to the dark red couch laying at the left side of Elsa's office. They sat down next to each other, softly holding their hands between them.

"I didn't see you today." Elsa said, a slight accusing edge to her voice. She had missed her sister, and some of her cheer would've helped tremendously during the long day.

"I'm sorry Elsa, but Kristoff came right before you did, and he had been away for three weeks! I had to go with him. And then when I looked for you I was told you were in important meetings and shouldn't be disturbed unless it was really important."

"Don't worry, I don't hold it against you. It's just that I could have used you in there. I swear days like these just seem to suck the life out of me."

"Oh you'll be fine. You've been saying the same thing for the last three years."

"And yet I still hold hope that you'll believe me one day."

"I will when you get married."

Elsa grimaced, not particularly enjoying this part of Anna's humor. "Speaking of marriage, where is our resident ice master?"

Anna unclasped one of her hands only to wave it at her dismissively. "He took Sven to the city for his deliveries. Never mind that, tell me all about your trip. What's this I hear about you, a Viking and a dragon?"

"What, didn't you hear the punchline to that one?"

Anna glared at her.

"I'm serious. I think I heard the staff telling it earlier. At least they work fast, right?"

"Elsa!" Anna said, drawing out the word to a whine. Elsa grinned.

"Fine, fine. I'll tell you. Everything was going fine until about three days into our journey, when we stopped abruptly and half my men went into the forest. The captain told me that there was a dragon sleeping in the woods and that he wanted it dead before we proceeded."

"Sounds reasonable," Anna said. "Though I'm guessing things didn't work out?"

"Not at all. We saw the thing fly off the treetops and let out this terrifying roar. It flew up, and then headed straight for us. A group of archers went ahead and unleashed a volley just as it was getting close. I have no idea how it saw the arrows in time, but it did. I've never seen anything move as fast, Anna. Ever. One moment it was there, then next it wasn't. It rolled out of the way. It flew up, higher and faster than I thought possible. After it reached the clouds, it turned and basically fell towards the archers. Thankfully I realized what it was doing and blocked the dragonfire. From that moment on, I was the sole recipient of its attacks."

"Alright, I'm following so far. So when does this viking king come in?"

"Chief."

"Excuse me?"

"Vikings have chiefs, not Kings."

Anna rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Fine! When does this viking chief come in?"

"He was always there."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean he was _on_ the dragon."

She let her sister process this. When her eyes widened, she knew that she must have caught on.

"You don't mean..."

"I mean he was riding it. Saddle and everything. He was directing the dragon."

"Wow! So he attacked you?"

"We fought." Elsa allowed.

The Princess' eyes frowned at her.

"You froze a viking king?"

"_Chief_."

"You froze a viking _chief_?"

"Not .. exactly."

"Elsa! Isn't this sort of the worst diplomacy possible? We talked about this years ago. You can't go around freezing foreign royalty! Then again, he did attack you, so-"

"Anna, stop." Elsa cut her off. Anna closed her mouth and looked at her sister, noting the seriousness of the Queen's gaze. She waited. "You're missing something important. Backtrack, think it over."

The Princess took her sister's advice to heart, and Elsa saw her brow furrow in thought.

"You said he was riding the dragon. So it's safe to assume that he was nearby when your men attacked it?"

Elsa nodded encouragingly. "From what I saw the last two nights, he sleeps under its wing."

Anna blinked, filing the weird information away for later. "So, technically, he didn't attack you at all, did he?"

The Queen shook her head. "We attacked them while they were sleeping. One could say that they were defending themselves."

"So what happened? You say you didn't freeze him? But you brought him and the dragon here, so you didn't kill him. How did you end the fight?"

Elsa raised a delicate eyebrow and smiled despite herself. "What makes you think I won?"

Anna's silence was deafening and her open mouthed shock greatly amusing. The blond repressed a smile. It wouldn't do for her sister to think she was joking.

"You ... you didn't win?"

"No," Elsa shook her head. "I went full out, summoned a blizzard and everything. I lost."

"But-," Anna sputtered. "But, you're Elsa, the Snow Queen! You created a complete ice castle on a whim! You accidentally brought about eternal winter!"

Elsa grimaced again. "Thanks for reminding me."

"My point is, you can do almost anything. What stopped you from freezing them?"

"Oh, I tried. I tried everything, but they were just so fast, Anna. I couldn't land anything more than a glancing blow. I've never seen anything move like that."

"Okay," Anna said, breathing deeply. She was visibly trying to swallow the fact that Elsa had lost a direct fight. "So, you lost. How badly are we speaking?"

Elsa winced. "Pretty badly. You'd think that a man riding a dragon would go for the brute force approach, but no. I _had _to go pick a fight with what, if my luck is holding, must probably be the only devious dragon rider in existence. He had a plan and I fell right for it like a rookie." Elsa shuddered as she remembered the glint of the arrow's tip, inches away from piercing her brain. The heat of the fireblasts, chipping away at her barriers of magical ice.

"So how did you not get mauled or burned? Didn't the dragon get you?"

Elsa shook her head again. "It wasn't the dragon. It was the rider. I was disoriented from a fall -don't ask- and my attention was on the dragon. Before I knew it, the chief tackled me from the air."

Anna's confusion was palpable. "I'm not following."

"He wasn't on the dragon. When I noticed that, I looked around for him. He was _flying_, Anna. I have no idea how, but he was flying by himself. He tackled me and pressed this dagger in my throat."

She stopped when she heard her sister's gasp. Anna had brought her hands to her mouth in horror. Perhaps unnecessarily, Elsa raised her chin, showing off the miniscule line of scabbed blood that served as proof of her words. The princess gasped again.

"No!"

"Oh yes."

"And how did you escape?"

"I didn't."

"Well he obviously didn't kill you!" Wow, she was getting snappy. She must have been more upset than Elsa thought. She decided to not torture her any longer.

"He let me go."

Anna stared at her again, blinking.

"He just ... let you go? After you basically attacked him for what must have seemed to him as no reason at all and went full blizzard on him, he left you go?"

"Yup. he chewed me out for attacking him and his dragon, made me promise to not do it again and released me."

"Is he cute?"

Elsa's thought process ground to a halt, as she tried to make sense of her sister's reasoning.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Of course it has! It has everything to do with it, don't you see?"

"Don't you start again." Elsa said, pointing an accusing finger at her sister. "After the last fiasco, you promised not to interfere. I also remember that the angreement was that no teasing is allowed, either."

Anna raised her hands palms up in a show of non-aggression. "I know, I know. Not interfering or teasing in the slightest. But I'm just saying, by the way you didn't reply, you _must_ find him cute!"

"I'm going to ignore that little piece of flawed logic and pretend that this particular part of our conversation never happened. Not to mention that even if I did, it wouldn't matter, because he doesn't seem to think I'm attractive."

Anna brought her hands to her mouth, open in silent horror. "No!"

Elsa nodded. "Yes. He wasn't exactly rude about it, but he refused to ride with me, instead preferring to ride a supply horse, and later professed doubts that I would have marriage proposals by anyone."

"That brute!"

"I will also remind you that you'll be able to judge his 'cuteness' by yourself when you see him, although I'm not sure Kristoff would appreciate that."

Anna waved her off again. "He's a man. He'll get over it. I still don't get it though. So he got the jump on you, okay. Couldn't you have frozen him at any moment after that?"

"Of course I could," Elsa said dismissively, "I could have frozen him anytime from the moment the knife left my throat and every moment of our journey after that. Any minute he's not on the dragon, I can freeze them both. And even if the dragon is too much for me, I suspect that it wouldn't be as much trouble as it could with the chief on it."

"Exactly, so why didn't you?"

"You mean besides the fact that it would bring all of the Vikings down on our heads?" At Anna's encouraging nod, Elsa sighed and continued. "Because it would be pointless. He let me live. I'm not sure if you fully understand it yet, Anna. He had me, defenseless and at his mercy and he simply released me after trusting my word that I wouldn't attack him again. Besides, to attack him when he's not on his dragon would be like him attacking me if I couldn't use my ice powers."

Elsa saw her sister's wide smile and pointed a finger at her again. "Not a word." Anna closed her mouth, still smiling. "I know what you're thinking, we've discussed this. It's a bad thought. Take it, bind it up." Obligingly, Anna mimed fishing something out of her head with her hand and letting it fall into something she was holding on her other hand. Then she mimed tying the imaginary satchel with an imaginary cord. Done, she showed off the imaginary satchel to her sister.

"Good," Elsa approved. "Now throw it away." Anna complied and pretended to throw the satchel behind her back.

"Alright, thought forgotten, tell me more. You brought him here after that?"

"And believe you me, it wasn't easy. He would've left then and there if I hadn't persuaded him."

"Why didn't you? Let him leave, I mean."

Elsa glared at her sister. "Are you kidding? And let it be known that we attacked a viking chief unprovoked, who then proceeded to wipe the floor with me? Do you have any idea of the political ramifications of such an act? No, there was no other choice. We have to show him that we are anything resembling good people, so that he won't make fools of us in the international community, bring a flock of dragons down on our heads, or do something equally ridiculous."

"Fine, fine, point made. Good impression, got it. So, what is he like? I've yet to meet him and you've been traveling together for, what, two days now?"

"More or less." Elsa confirmed.

"So, spill!"

Elsa took some time to gather her thoughts. "We didn't talk all that much. He's very guarded and evasive, though I suppose it's not without cause. I didn't learn a lot."

"You don't seem to like him. Is he a bad sort?"

Elsa shrugged lightly. "I'm not certain. I get mixed signals, not all of which are good. One thing I know for sure, though, is that he's nothing like anyone I've ever met. We both have to get to know him a bit before he decides to leave."

"I'll bet we do."

Elsa glared at her insufferable sister again, who didn't even have the grace to stop smirking. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. She closed her mouth and turned towards the door, calling for whoever it was to come in.

A servant woman opened the door and got inside, bowing respectfully to the two royals. "My Queen, Princess."

The two sisters returned the gesture with nods of their heads. "What is it, Alisa?"

"Your majesty, some of the staff are getting ... restless, regarding the dragon."

Elsa exchanged a look with Elsa, before turning back to Alisa. "What's going on?"

"The dragon has been walking around the hallways your majesty. Poking inside rooms and startling the staff and the guests."

"Has anyone been hurt?"

"No, my Queen. But it's been going on for some hours and not everyone in the staff can handle the strain on their nerves. Also, I'm not sure how much longer the guards will keep their cool."

"How did it get out?"

"It, um, rattled the door until a passing servant opened it, my Queen."

"I see." Elsa replied.

"Are we going to the dragon?" Anna said, clapping her hands together with a wide smile. Elsa sent her a sharp look.

"We are definitely not going to the dragon. Not without Chief Hiccup there. Do you know where he is, Alisa?"

"Chief Haddock left in the morning, your majesty. Arnod is with him."

"Well, where did they go?"

"I do not know, your majesty."

"Find out where they went and send someone to notify me."

Alisa bowed her head. "Yes, my Queen." With that, she turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Anna turned to her sister, wide smile ever present on her face. "There's a dragon skulking around the castle?"

"Apparently."

"And we need to find the only one who can control the dangerous beast?"

"According to Chief Hiccup, the dragon Toothless is only dangerous when he wants to be."

"But?"

"It's not that I don't trust his word, exactly, it's just that ... " Elsa trailed off, unsure how to voice her thoughts.

"You'd rather not test it with lives at stake?"

Elsa nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, at the very least, this viking is making things interesting already. I was beginning to get bored."

Only a groan replied to that, causing Anna's smile to widen even more. A minute later, Elsa thought of something else.

"If you're going to speak with him, there are a few things you should know so you can avoid the pitfalls I fell into."

"Ouch?"

"Quite. First of all, no matter what you think of it, refrain from saying anything that could be taken as offensive regarding the dragon. Chief Hiccup is very defensive of him and seems to view him rather like a family member or a close friend."

Anna frowned. "Okay, I suppose I'll find out why soon enough. Next?"

"I'm serious. If you treat the dragon like a normal animal he'll clamp down immediately. He _talks_ to it. And from the looks of it, the thing replies back."

The princess rolled her eyes. "I have experience with people overly attached to their animal friends. I'll be fine. Next?"

"He has a prosthetic foot. When I asked, all he told me about it was that he lost it on a battle. I'm not sure how sensitive a subject it is, but be cautious."

"Alright, noted. Anything else?"

"Yeah. He's the leader of his tribe, but he acts nothing like any royal I ever met. He was dressed like a warrior, he did everything by himself, he slept on the ground next to his dragon. I'm not sure what to think."

"Now I want to meet him even more."

Elsa was saved from replying when the door was knocked. Once again she prompted whoever it was inside. The composed form of Arnod entered, bowed and folded his arms behind his back.

"My Queen."

"Arnod." Elsa nodded. "It's good to see you. How has Chief Hiccup been today?"

"Hiccup has been ... interesting, my Queen."

Anna raised an eyebrow at the young servant. "Hiccup?"

"Hiccup insisted I call him that, in return for calling me Ernie."

Elsa and Anna blinked, turned their heads to look at each other, before looking at Arnod in synchronization. Equal grins split their faces.

"If you don't stop it now, Ernie, I'm afraid it's going to stick." Anna informed him amusedly. Ernie bowed his head.

"I am aware, your majesty. It is ... not as unfortunate as it could be."

Elsa decided that, funny as this was, perhaps they should get to business.

"Ernie, where is your charge?"

This seemed to make Ernie a bit nervous, as he shuffled his legs a bit and looked around.

"With your permission, my Queen."

Elsa nodded her head and the young man moved closer, leaning over to whisper in her ear. Elsa turned her head to let him lean closer and listened attentively. Anna watched closely as Elsa's brow furrowed more and more.

After Ernie stopped speaking and returned to his straight posture, Elsa brought her fingers higher to rub at her eyes, feeling the headache that had been building all day finally bloom.

Eventually, she stopped abusing her eyes and got up from the couch. She looked at Anna and jerked her head towards the door.

"Come on, Anna. Let's go find us a Viking."

**~E~**

Fifteen minutes later, Anna, Elsa and Arnod had left the palace and wandered through the roads of Arendelle. Anna did not know where they were going, but Elsa didn't doubt that this only added to her fun. As they walked, people bowed and stepped to the side, letting them pass with jovial greetings, which they returned.

Eventually, they left the main roads of Arendelle and approached the outskirts of the city. Here was the craftsman's district. The traders were situated in and around the port, the center of the city held most of the houses, and the outskirts were the various builders, craftsmen and workers.

They turned the corner and there, two buildings down, was the blacksmith's shop. It was a stone building like the others, but not as tall, having no more than one floor. It was, however, wider. The front of the shop, the part customers could enter, held the seller's booth and row upon row of tools, weapons and other loose ends for buyers to browse. Through a door on the back of this room, lay the actual smithy, taking most of the building.

They reached the entrance and Ernie opened the wooden door, bowing his head as he waited for the sisters to get inside. As they did so, they eyes fell upon the rows of swords, halberds, the barrels of arrows, the hammers, nails and various other for-sale items. The repeated sound of steel hammering against steel could be heard, but the booth, however, was empty.

"Where is the seller?" Anna asked.

"Hiccup rented the smith for today, so technically they are closed." Ernie informed them.

"He rented it? The whole day?"

Ernie nodded. "He's been here ever since, though he did visit the leatherworker to buy several pieces of tough leather."

Elsa pursed her lips and opened the door that led deeper into the building.  
Inside was a different world. The oppressing atmosphere got to her immediately, the heat hitting her like a physical blow. She let out a harsh breath as she got used to the higher temperature, feeling her sister do the same.

The smithy was an organized mess. Several tables were arrayed around the room, tools and half-finished projects laying there. Equally, the walls were all full with either tools, products, or machinery. Parts of the smithy were separate rooms, probably storage rooms. There were three different sets of forges, each with its own anvil, water barrel, and other assorted equipment.

Two of the forges were lit. In one, a small piece of metal was heating up. The other was empty, but the pounding on the anvil in front of it was almost deafening.

Chief Hiccup wore the tunic he was given, but over it he had placed a heavy leather apron, and his hands were gloved with equally tough material. On his right hand he held the tong, which in turn kept the glowing piece of metal he was working on still, while his left held a medium sized hammer, raining down blows with the face of the hammer and slowly shaping the metal as he wished.

They watched him work for a minute, all three of them aware that he was so focused on his work that he did not notice them entering, as the door was slightly behind him and to the right. Elsa studied him, noticing the furrow of his brow as he concentrated, along with the long lines of sweat from standing so close to the furnace. Scouring the tables around him with her eyes, she saw several weird things. The saddle he had used on the dragon was taking up a table almost by itself, immaculate and clean, and discarded pieces of ruined leather lay around it. On another table, several pieces of what she assumed was steel were placed. They must have been pieces, for they had no discernible use that Elsa could think of. She recognized the small rings, but she could not guess as to what the other pieces were for. There were slim and long pieces, others were curved, some had hooks or twists other patterns. A dagger and a sheathed sword also lay on that table, as well.

Elsa cleared her throat during a lull between strikes. Chief Hiccup startled and nearly dropped his hammer, but saved it at the last second. He turned his head and looked at them.

"Hello." He said.

"Good evening, Chief Hiccup." Elsa replied. She saw the chief's eyes go from her to Ernie and then finally land on Anna. She was sporting a small smile and a speculative look in her eyes.

"Princess Anna, I assume." He said before turning back to his work, straightening his hold and resuming his pounding. "Excuse me for not being able to greet you properly, but this needs to be done now." He said, his voice strained from the exertion.

"Fret not," Anna replied. "It was us that intruded upon your work. I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunity to get to know each other."

The chief glanced at them and briefly returned Anna's friendly smile, before focusing his gaze back at the piece of metal.

"What are you doing, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Some long overdue repairs. I haven't seen a smithy in weeks. Some pieces needed replacement altogether. I also fixed Toothless' saddle, which was getting pretty frayed. There's still the harness to do, the tailfin, and my prosthetic."

Elsa and Anna exchanged looks. Ernie looked not at all surprised. He must have had a similar discussion earlier. Anna peered at the prosthetic curiously, studying the metal contraption. Rather than being a single piece of metal, it was comprised of several smaller pieces connected together. Three parts touched the ground. The middle one was the widest, and though slim, it covered in width about as much as a regular foot would. Two smaller pieces were in front and behind it, and these pieces would move whenever the chief leaned forward or backwards, up to a point.

"What's wrong with it?" Anna asked, not able to contain her curiosity.

"Can you see the three springs, above the pieces touching the floor?" He asked, moving his foot closer to them, but not looking away from the anvil. Anna studied it, and noticed the springs he was talking about. She saw two of them, contracting and lengthening with his movement.

"Yeah."

"They're close to their limit. I need new ones. That and some general maintenance."

"Why did you not commission the blacksmith to do it for you?" Elsa questioned. The Chief turned to give her an incredulous gaze.

"Are you kidding? I don't trust anyone else with my gear. Well, maybe Gobber, but he taught me everything I know. Plus; mister Frey, for all his expertise, does not know how to make what I'm making."

Argus Frey was the blacksmith, Elsa suddenly remembered. Who this Gobber character was, she did not know. Probably the blacksmith of Berk. Why the future chief felt it necessary to learn such things as metalwork and leatherwork, Elsa did not know.

"I have to admit though, it's nice to work in a place with such an abundance of steel. Iron is good, but not always the best."

They had nothing to say to that, knowing nothing about the ways of the smith. They watched him work for a minute in silence.

"Dinner will be soon. Everyone will be eager to meet you." Anna said. Dinnertime at the castle was a grand affair, with all nobles that stayed at the castle currently invited. It wasn't a daily event, but these days the castle was full of visiting diplomats and noblemen from around the kingdom.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to make it. This will keep me well into the night." The Chief said, as he stopped his work on the small steel piece. He released the tong and placed the hammer on the table next to him. He got another tong from the tool table and moved to the other forge, where a long piece of metal shimmered in, glowing a light orange. He picked it up carefully, and moved to the water barrel. With one swift move, he plunged the hot metal inside and left it there. Hurriedly, he returned to his hammer and anvil.

"Did you come here solely to introduce me to your lovely sister?" Chief Hiccup asked, sparing her a quick glance.

"No, as a matter of fact. We need you to reign in your dragon."

The viking chief paused, hammer raised above his head, but collected himself swiftly, resuming his work, turning the hot piece this way and that as he drew it out.

"What's he done this time?" He asked, exasperation in his voice.

"Nothing, exactly. He's just been prowling the castle and the staff are getting restless with an unchecked dragon moving around unsupervised."

Elsa noticed his frown form and spoke again, before he could. "I understand you have full faith in Toothless, but give the staff some time to share your views before you let him stroll around like that, would you?"

He didn't speak for a few seconds.

"You're right," he said eventually. "However, I cannot come now. All you have to do is get him to our quarters, tell him to stay there until I get back and close the door."

Elsa glanced at Anna, her sister doing the same. "And if he doesn't want to come?" Anna asked.

"Nah, he'll come." The Chief said confidently. "Just bait him with a few fish and he'll follow you around like a hungry puppy. He's crazy for the stuff."

"Any particular preferences?"

"Don't mind about his favorites, any kind of fish will do. Big fish, but not too big for him to swallow whole."

"You are certain he will follow without aggressive moves?" Elsa asked, images of the dragon lunging and eating her whole hand along with the fish flashing through her eyes.

"Yes, I'm certain. He won't go for it until you give it to him."

"Very well. Are you absolutely certain that I can't convince you to come to dinner?"

He flashed her an apologetic smile, his face flushed from the heat and the exertion.

"Sorry, but no. I have to finish this. Flying with Toothless was getting dangerous, the gear needs repairing."

"Then I insist that you take breakfast with us, tomorrow morning." This would work better, considering breakfast was a much more private affair, usually consisting of only herself and Anna, with the occasional minister, royal, or close friend joining in.

"What time will it be?"

"Usual time is eight thirty."

"Huh. I usually get up at dawn. Alright though, I'll make it." Elsa got up that early, too. It was no surprise, really. People like them did not get to sleep in. The time of breakfast was set more for her sister's sake than hers.

"We'll be looking forward to it," Anna warned, her eyes dancing with humor and completely ignoring Elsa's cautioning look. "I really want to get to know you."

The Chief smiled at Anna again. A wide, genuine smile that Elsa had not seen directed at her at any point before. She felt a stab of something which she couldn't discern. Annoyance, irrational irritation ... maybe jealousy?

_Ridiculous_.

It was just that he seemed so open with everyone _except her_ that was setting her on edge. She'd sacrificed a lot to be so friendly, and he'd better appreciate it, damn it all!

"I'll be looking forward to it as well, Princess Anna."

Everyone feeling the obvious dismissal, Elsa and Anna bid their goodbyes and left the smith to his work, the steady sound of his hammer following them out. Ernie straightened and faced them.

"Apologies my Queen, Princess, but I'd better stay here. Who knows when Hiccup finishes. It wouldn't do for him to get lost on the way back."

"It's alright, Ernie." Elsa assured him. "Just make sure he gets there tomorrow."

Ernie bowed. "Yes, my Queen."

"Bye, Ernie!" Anna waved as they walked away, back towards the castle.

"Well? Impressions?" Elsa prodded. Anna looked into the distance, speculative look on her face.

"I'm not sure. Too early to tell. He seemed ..." she fished for words and Elsa let her think in peace. "... busy." she finished lamely.

"Indeed. I have to say, I've never seen a royal do something so ..."

"Hands-on?" Anna guessed.

"Yes. Goes to show how much we know about the Vikings."

"Well, Arendelle is far enough away that we haven't had raids, nor trade. We can't really be blamed for it. He didn't know anything about us either, right?"

"Right." Elsa nodded. They were approaching the bridge now. Soon, it would close for the day, to be opened again at dawn.

"And now?"

"Now we have a dragon to feed." Anna's excited squeal made Elsa roll her eyes, a fond smile gracing her features at her sister's antics.

For a few minutes, they walked in silence, before Anna broke it.

"I _knew _he would be cute."

"_Anna!_"

**~E~**

They headed deeper into the castle, but westwards, towards the working areas. Therein lay the kitchens. Elsa had quickly found and employed one of the servants to fetch her three big fish. If her request made the woman curious, she didn't show it. She only bowed and headed deeper into the kitchens, towards the storage rooms and the cold rooms, where the fish were kept, constantly on ice.

Soon, the Queen of Arendelle was walking next to the Princess, carrying a tray with, to her great amusement, three large haddock fishes. She drew weird looks from the people they passed in the hallways, but no one questioned what she was planning to do with the fish as she walked confidently to where she had been told the dragon was last.

"Why are we doing this ourselves? Not that I mind, but I'd have expected you to send someone else. You're not used to personally feed every visitor's pet."

Elsa's face hardened. "I'm doing this personally because no one else will be able to properly defend themselves in case the dragon gets aggressive."

Anna didn't ask again.

Two floors up, they found the dragon. Anna stilled the moment they turned the corner of the corridor and saw it. The Princess' hand found her sleeve and held it tightly as she took the great beast in. It was turned slightly away from them, inspecting a vase full of flowers set on a windowsill, nostrils flaring as it sniffed at it. Its wings were folded in on itself and its tail was lazily flicking left and right. Even its expression seemed, well, bored.

The dragon abruptly sneezed, its head snapping downwards. It snarled at the offending flower and backed away a few steps, body bent at the back like a cat, as it hissed at the vase.

It was all quite comical, but neither of the royal girls were even smiling.

"What do you think?" Elsa whispered to her sister, not sure if the dragon had noticed them, but unwilling to give them away in case it had not.

"Its terrifying alright but ... I don't know. I expected something a bit ... bigger."

"It looks much bigger with those wings open." Elsa said.

The dragon snapped its head towards them, its various ears standing straight up, a look of great interest on its face as it sniffed the air, its nostrils flaring visibly. When the beast's eyes landed on the haddocks its eyes widened and it practically bounded towards them, closing the distance between them in five long strides.

Anna started shaking next to her, but Elsa stood firm, magic coursing through her body, preparing to freeze the beast where it stood at the first sign of aggression.

It seemed an unnecessary precaution, because as soon as it reached them, the dragon stopped. Its gaze was locked on the haddocks, its mouth open and tongue lolling out, panting like ... a hungry puppy.

The beast's eyes alternated between the fish and Elsa's own eyes, obviously smart enough to understand that they were for him but unsure of what she was going to do. Elsa had never been this close to the dragon before and his deep, inquisitive look made her hesitate for a few seconds.

She shook her head to clear it and took a few steps back. The dragon let out a sad little croon and dogged her steps, looking pitifully at the fish.

"Follow us." Elsa commanded. The dragon's eyes snapped towards her instantly, and she saw _intelligence_ in that gaze. "You understand me?" She spoke again. "Follow us."

With that, she took a few more steps. The dragon obligingly followed her, not letting the distance between them grow, still drooling over the fish. Anna had overcome her slight panic attack, but was still glued at her side, watching the dragon avidly, though the Night Fury was completely ignoring her.

Elsa felt sure enough to turn her back to the dragon, but still held the tray to the side so he could see it. She started walking and could feel the dragon's surprisingly light steps as he followed them.

Within minutes, they had arrived to Chief Hiccup's assigned quarters and Anna pushed the doors, which were unlocked, open. She and the dragon moved into the spacious room, Anna closing the wide doors behind them.  
Elsa stopped in the middle of the room and turned. The dragon had sat on its belly, staring up at her through sad, wide eyes, ears flat against its hide. Chief Hiccup really wasn't kidding with that puppy quip. How a dragon could look so pitiful was beyond her.

"Here." She said as she set the tray down, before taking a few steps back, closer to the bed. She watched the dragon sniff at the fish. Then, he opened his mouth.

_By Winter!_ She thought inwardly. He really was toothless! But, she could've sworn she'd seen-

The dragon's mouth was suddenly full of razor sharp teeth, and he snatched up a fish, tossing it in the air and gulping it down in one smooth move.

_Teeth._

So the beast had retractable teeth. Now the name Toothless made much more sense. Elsa shook her head and left the dragon at its meal. She watched him lick his lip-less mouth with his tongue, clearly satisfied.

She looked around the room, to see how the chief had settled. It was still their first day here, so the room was pretty much the same as before they got here, but traces of their presence could be seen. Over by the desk, the few books that had been stacked there, consisting of a basic history book on the kingdom of Arendelle and some of the more famous literally works, had been moved around and probably skimmed. Approaching the desk, she saw that the ink pot had been moved and that one of the paper sheets had lines on it. Reaching the desk, she inspected it more clearly, taking the sheet and bringing it to eye level. It was the castle, surprisingly. It was an angle that she recognized as the one from the hill above Arendelle. Though the sketch was rushed, it was surprisingly detailed. The castle was only half-formed, the sketch obviously unfinished.

So the chief could draw, too? Interesting.

Elsa took another look around, her eyes finally landing on the chief's luggage, which consisted of four saddlebags. Standing there on the ground, they seemed surprisingly solid and heavy. How much faster would the dragon have flown without them?

Her eye caught something poking out one of the pockets of the dark leather bags. It seemed like the edge of a notebook. She approached with measured steps, held the notebook between her fingers and tugged. The bag gave and the notebook was released.

Elsa inspected it. It was made of dark leather and it lacked a hard back or front cover, to the point where it could be flexed this way and that without tearing. _Practical_, she thought.

She really, really shouldn't. She shouldn't have removed it from the bag in the first place. It was unbecoming of a queen to snoop around the belongings of her guests. She was not a gossip, she shouldn't do this.

She looked at the notebook, carressing its soft leather cover with her fingers. What secrets lay inside? What insights into the man that confused her so?

Giving in to her curiosity, she opened the first page. On the left side, a single line of runes that she couldn't read. The writing was, surprisingly, with charcoal. She couldn't recognize the runes, but it must have been a declaration of property, like with most personal notebooks or journals. The actual first page was filled with such runes. While they were fascinating in their shapes, she couldn't read them, so she turned the page. This one was also mostly filled with runes, but there was also the diagram of what appeared to be a piece of equipment. Arrows directed explanations to various parts of the object.

Turning another page, she saw that this one was mostly sketches, with a few lines of runes here and there. It was a detailed side view of the dragon Toothless, wearing a set of harness and saddle different than the one she'd seen on him. She admired the expertly drawn sketch for a minute, before turning another page.

_Goldmine_. This was full of sketches of people. She recognized the chief, standing in the middle. She couldn't mistake him because of his prosthetic and body structure, but it was a surprisingly inaccurate sketch. She guessed that it was harder to draw oneself that it was to draw others. The other people she couldn't recognize, so she began to inspect them.

A growl interrupted her before she could really take the drawing in, and she froze on the spot. She looked to the side and there was the dragon, eyes narrowed and ear flaps raised in a show of aggression. His mouth was half open as he growled and his name was grossly inaccurate, in this instance. His stance was drawn back, like a cat ready to pounce, as he glared at her.

"Elsa?" Anna asked, clearly alarmed and worried, from the other side of the dragon.

"Stay there." Elsa said. She saw the dragon's eyes alternate between her and the notebook in her hand. The dragon once again looked at the notebook, before snorting.

Elsa closed the book and raised it to eye level. The dragon followed the movement with his head, still growling lowly.

"Is this about the notebook?" Elsa asked. The dragon snorted again, which Elsa didn't know how to take, before jerking its head to the side. Elsa looked to her left where the dragon had pointed. He had jerked his head towards the bags.

"I'm sorrythat I took your master's property." Elsa said, slowly, ignoring Anna's gasp. "I'll put it back now, okay?"

The dragon obviously did not reply, but it didn't make any other move as she approached the bags again and slowly replaced the notebook where she found it, not taking her eyes off the beast in case she needed to freeze him.

Once the book was safely where it had been and Elsa had straightened, the aggression left the dragon's posture. His eyes widened innocently again, his left ear flap lowered, his brow lost the hostile frown and he sat back on his two back limbs and tail. He regarded her with open curiosity. Elsa didn't waver from the stare, landing the same on the Night Fury. How could an animal go from a posture that radiated menace and hostility to one of a child inspecting something shiny in the span of a few seconds?

The dragon stopped staring at her, instead bringing his head lower, to the empty silver tray. He sniffed and crooned sadly. He raised his head again to look at her, before sniffing again. He started moving, getting closer to her. Elsa tensed, ready to unleash her magic, but she sensed no threatening intent from the dragon.

Nevertheless, she instictively stepped backwards as the beast approached her. Its head was snaking this way and that as it sniffed the air. Elsa's vision was suddenly covered with a barrage of fire and she flinched as memory overtook her. She backpedaled faster, striking the front of the bed with her rear and unable to walk any further. The dragon reached her and its head was inches from her. His mouth was closed, but he was sniffing her and trying to look behind her and in the folds of her dress.

"I think it's looking for more fish." Anna whispered, having followed Elsa's movements from the side.

Elsa saw the dragon's clearly inquisitive look and eager sniffing and decided that Anna must be right.

"I don't have any more." She declared, hoping the dragon understood her. He must have, because he abandoned his search. The Night Fury brought his head to her eye level and cocked it to the side, giving her a look she couldn't figure out.

After half a minute of this, the dragon moved. It rose higher and sat back, balancing on its tail, which was bent at what she thought must have been a painful angle, but obviously wasn't, else the dragon wouldn't do it. Sitting back like this, the dragon was nearly twice her height.

She saw the beast's eyes roll back into his head. His throat let out choking noises and his head moved back and forth, as if it was trying to spit something out.

Elsa yelped loudly when something plopped with a loud 'splat' on the ground in front of her. The dragon was looking at her, and she thought it looked satisfied, if expectant. She looked to see what the dragon had spat.

It was fish. Or at least, part of a fish. The head of a haddock along with small part of its body, half-eaten and covered in slime and other things Elsa really didn't want to know about.

"Oh gods." Anna exclaimed, disgusted. Elsa's face had turned slightly green at the sight of the fish and she could feel her lunch making the trip up her throat.

She moved from her place at the edge of the bed, making a run for the doors, Anna hot on her heels. They threw the right part of the door open and burst out, closing it behind them.

Elsa leaned against the wall, taking deep breaths and holding a hand up to her mouth, trying to stop herself from getting violently sick.

"That was absolutely disgusting." Anna said.

Elsa would have agreed, if she wasn't sure that, instead of words, her lunch would have come out.

Dragons were weird.

**~E~**


	5. Chapter 5

**Note: **Yes, I realize that it is the 1st of April. No, there is nothing about this chapter that is a joke.

**~HE~**

**A Chance Encounter Chapter 5**

**~HE~**

The moment Hiccup felt himself wake on the morning of his second day in Arendelle, he surged to a sitting position and produced his dagger in his left hand, studying his strange surroundings in alarm. It took him a minute to stop breathing heavily and for all the memories of the previous three days to return. When they did, he groaned and fell back onto the impossibly soft mattress. He closed his eyes again and debated falling back to sleep. He could hear Toothless' light snoring nearby, so the dragon was still sleeping.

Unfortunately, he did not get to decide if he would fall into deep slumber again, because the sound that had originally woken him repeated itself. Two soft knocks at the door to his quarters.

"Lord Haddock?" The soft voice of Ernie floated inside the room. Hiccup didn't open his eyes, analyzing his chances of evasion if he played dead.

Ernie repeated the knock and the call.

"It's _Hiccup_!" The viking hollered, too sleepy to be mindful of proper protocol and too angry with Ernie for waking him. He stubbornly kept his eyes closed.

"Can I come in, Hiccup?" Ernie asked. Hiccup groaned, which apparently meant 'Yes' to Ernie. The door opened lightly and the young servant stepped inside. Hiccup turned on his side, away from the door.

"Hiccup, don't you want to attend breakfast with the Queen and the Princess? It's almost eight in the morning."

The gears inside Hiccup's mind slowly started to turn, grease and rust falling slowly.

"Breakfast ... with the ... Queen?" He repeated slowly, processing it. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and a look of horror crossed his features. He shot up to a sitting position. "Breakfast with the Queen!" He yelled. "By Thor, I completely forgot!"

He threw the covers off of himself and rose to his feet, clad only in his underpants. He had no trouble hopping towards the bathroom to wash himself. He remembered that he washed last night, but did not trust the thoroughness of his bath at his sorry state of tiredness.

If Ernie was bothered by the various scars that adorned Hiccup's body, he showed no sign of it.

"Why didn't you wake me earlier?" He called from inside the bathroom to Ernie, who was waiting outside the door with a clean set of clothes.

"I tried around seven and nearly got stabbed for my troubles." Ernie said, conversationally, causing Hiccup to blanch. His habit of sleeping with his dagger had saved his life on exactly two occasions, but accidents such as this were just as likely.

"Sorry." He said sheepishly.

"Quite alright. It's not the worst reaction I've had from someone I had to rouse."

"For that matter, why aren't you knackered? What time did we return last night?"

"It must have been around three, I think. I didn't exactly keep count. You will learn how exactly I am this awake when we reach the breakfast table. It will be waiting for you there."

Hiccup had finished with his hurried washing, and hobbled to the door, where he received the clothes from Ernie. It was a set similar to the one he'd worn yesterday, only light blue instead of green. Clothes on, he returned to the main room, where he located his prosthetic and set about wearing it. As he tied the various straps around his stump, his mind replayed the previous day.

He'd been so elated at finding a smithy just as equipped, if not more so, than the one in Berk that he'd thrown himself into the work with gusto the likes of which he hadn't shown in years. A sudden memory caused him to grimace once again.

"Gods, I was so horrible." He mumbled. The Queen and her sister had come to find him the previous day and he'd completely blown them off. He'd refused an official invitation to a state dinner, his first in this kingdom he was visiting, and then proceeded to send _them_ to reign in his wayward dragon. A dragon which, in hindsight, they had no reason to trust and not simply kill for stepping out of his assigned quarters.

Granted, the repairs needed to be done. Yes, he couldn't stop the process once he'd began without wasting massive amounts of time and metal and yes; nobody had told him in advance that there was going to be a dinner that he was invited to, so he couldn't be blamed for being occupied.

That still left him being a terrible guest and blowing off his hostess, who also happened to be the Queen, and her sister who had just seen him for the first time. He also endangered Toothless' life and, by extension, the life of anyone the castle guards might have sent against him.

Sometimes he hated how engrossed he became in his work. But after such cases, he sees the results of his works and is mollified.

"How do I convince them I'm not a complete brute, Ernie?" Hiccup asked, running his palm through his face. Peeking between his fingers, he saw the young man's light smirk.

"Do not worry, sir. I'm sure they'll understand. Just to be sure, however, be certain to be extra nice today."

Hiccup nodded at the wise advice. "Yeah, I'll try to do that. Gods, you should have stopped me from speaking yesterday. Tackled me, thrown me a hammer, _something_."

"I don't think even the Queen's ice magic could've stopped you when you were working in that smithy, sir." Ernie replied with a smile. Hiccup scowled again.

"Cut that 'sir' business, we've been over this. I'm Hiccup."

"I understand Hiccup, but we'll have to keep protocol in front of other dignitaries. It's too late for the Queen and her sister, but keep that in mind for when there are more people around."

Hiccup conceded that the people of Arendelle were much fonder of the formalities than the Berkians. He would play along. He was a guest, he didn't get to dictate terms of conduct.

"Very well. Let's go eat something, I'm starving."

He glanced at Toothless, but the dragon was fast asleep and if experience had taught him anything, it was that after a day like the previous he'd be out for a few more hours.

"I should think so, considering the only thing you've eaten is half of the food I brought you yesterday evening."

Hiccup waved a hand as he rose and headed for the door. "I eat light when I work, if at all. Could you arrange for some food to be brought up to Toothless? Not fish this time, let's not over indulge him. Actually ... never mind. Go crazy with the fish, yeah? Just tell them to leave it on the floor and close the door behind them."

Ernie nodded. "Sure. I'll do it myself while you're taking breakfast."

"You're the best, Ernie."

He stepped outside the door and began marching with determined strides, when he suddenly halted, turning back to look at the smiling Ernie.

"You should probably lead ... considering I don't know where we're going and all." Hiccup said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. Ernie shook his head, before walking away in the opposite direction. Hiccup rushed to catch up to him, falling in step to his left side.

They walked in silence, Ernie navigating them through the maze that was the castle. Hiccup was used to Berk's houses that, while wide, were nowhere near this big, so he was feeling quite overcome as he gazed around. People they would pass on the halls, be they servant or well-dressed visiting noble, would bow slightly to him and offer morning wishes, and he responded in kind.

All Hiccup really gathered was that they had gone down a few floors and moved westward. The halls here were different, the decoration more scarce but no less tasteful. They reached a set of wooden doors, in front of which Ernie stopped, Hiccup doing the same.

Ernie motioned for him to wait, before opening the door and stepping side.

"Announcing his majesty, Chief Hiccup Haddock."

Hiccup's cheeks reddened slightly, but he recognized his cue and stepped inside.

"Was that really necessary?" He whispered furiously to Ernie, frowning.

Ernie only smiled at him, prompting Hiccup to study the room he had stepped into. It was not particularly big, enough to fit a large table in the middle with chairs around it and some wooden stoves at the walls. Two more doors lead outside of the room. Already seated on the table were the Queen and the Princess, wearing matching dresses in hues of blue. It seemed like it was a theme.

The bountiful table in front of them was untouched, so he couldn't be that late. He did a mental double-take when he inspected the table's contents, not recognizing half the stuff.

"Queen Elsa, Princess Anna, good morning." He said, bowing his head respectfully. He was graced with twin smiles. Ernie vacated the room, closing the door as he left.

"Good morning, chief Hiccup." Elsa said, soon parroted by her sister.

"I have to apologize if I am late. I meant no offense by it." Hiccup said as he moved to occupy the last remaining chair around the square table. He sat next to the queen, with the princess on the left and smaller side of the table.

"A few minutes only, chief Hiccup." Anna waved away his concerns. "Nothing to worry about. Ernie informed us of your time of arrival yesterday. Your fatigue is understandable."

"Speaking of yesterday," Hiccup began, unsure how exactly to apologize but knowing he had to. "I realized how rude I was to my hostess and her sister. You must forgive me. I can get very excited when I work and don't often think very clearly. I apologize for my conduct."

Hiccup saw the royal sisters share a look. The princess smiled and the queen merely rolled her eyes at her. Turning back to him, queen Elsa addressed him.

"Please do not worry about it. It was partly our fault for not thinking to inform you before you'd started. I can certainly understand getting caught up in your work. Though a lot of people were disappointed at the dinner, many were waiting to get to know you."

Hiccup shifted in his seat. His stomach was growling, but the women had not started yet. Even though he didn't know the protocols of this place, he was not stupid. He could not start before them.

"I also understood the folly of sending untrained people to handle Toothless. I am certain he would not harm anyone, but it raises tension unnecessarily."

"We fed him ourselves." The princess informed him cheerily. Hiccup returned her smile, sensing her genuine enthusiasm. The princess didn't seem to share the queen's distaste of dragons. Or at the very least, she was willing to be persuaded.

"He didn't give you any trouble, did he?"

"Actually-" the princess began to say, but stopped speaking at her sister's warning look. After glaring at her sister, the queen turned to look at him.

"No, there were no issues. Toothless was friendly." Hiccup didn't buy it or a second, but let it go. Whatever it was, it couldn't be anything really damaging, considering no one had been hurt and the queen hadn't descended on him in an icy fury. If she didn't want to speak of it, he wouldn't press.

He nodded. "That's good to hear."

"Sometimes we get more people," the queen said as she waved her hand around, gesturing at the room "but usually it's just me and my sister."

Hiccup almost blurted an apology for intruding, but then remembered that he had been invited here and held his tongue.

"I appreciate the invitation. Hopefully it won't be the last time." He said, instead. By the smiles he received, it must have been a decent response.

"Let us begin, shall we? You must be quite hungry." The princess urged, and that was all the encouragement the three needed, reaching for the food in front of them. Feeling somewhat lost, Hiccup moved very slowly and mirrored the movements of the two royals. He took a large piece of bread, placed some fried eggs on his plate as well as a helping of beans. He let the sweet jam for later.

"Orange juice, chief Hiccup?" Elsa offered, holding a glass canteen of orange liquid.

"Yes, thank you." Hiccup agreed and the queen filled his glass with it. Hiccup tried it slowly. Slightly bitter, but also sweet. It was very good. He set about eating his food, being very careful about reminding himself not to use his hands for anything but the bread. He saw the metallic spoons and was impressed. Vikings used spoons, too, but rarely, and theirs were wooden, too.

"Is something wrong, chief Hiccup?" The princess asked him after they ate for some time, probably noticing some of his hesitation in touching this or that on the table.

"Apologies, I'm simply admiring the plenty on the table. I don't recognize half of these." He said, carefully cutting a piece of some kind of pie and placing it on his plate.

The princess grinned at him. "The cooks spoil us. Ever since we were little girls, they've been trying to fatten us up."

Hiccup exerted all his self-control to keep himself from making a joke, while looking at the queen. She saw his expression; and his smile must have betrayed some of his inner battle, for she raised an eyebrow at him, as if daring him to say something.

Far be it from him to avoid a challenge.

He noticed the queen's plate. It had a piece of pie, along with something that, as far as Hiccup could tell, was baked bread with some kind of stuffing inside.

"You're going to eat that?" He asked nonchalantly, after swallowing a mouthful. The queen narrowed her eyes at him slightly. When she spoke, she did so slowly, challenge positively dripping from her tone.

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

How was he to hold back, when faced with this?

"Nothing, nothing." He said lightly, turning to look at his plate. "In fact, I admire people comfortable with their weight."

He didn't look to see what he was sure must have been a scandalized expression on the queen's face, but the unhidden snickers from the princess were enough reward for his efforts. He returned to his food with barely hidden satisfaction.

What he didn't expect, was to get mocked right back.

"Perhaps you should have some of what I'm having. You look like you need it." The queen's voice bore into him like an arrow and he choked on the piece of pie he was currently swallowing. He did his best to keep his food from rising while keeping his laughter contained. The princess had no such problems, and her melodious laughter echoed over the breakfast table.

Once Hiccup had managed to swallow, face red, he turned to look at the queen. She was smirking at him in satisfaction and humor, and he knew he'd just been paid back for the bread stunt, on the way to Arendelle. Two for one.

_'Well played, Queen Elsa.'_ He thought, smiling back at her.

The mood was decidedly lighter after that, and the irony of the ice being broken wasn't lost on Hiccup.

"What is this?" Hiccup asked curiously, inspecting a nearly black liquid inside a warm pot.

"Try some." The queen suggested. "It helps one wake up and retain concentration."

Hiccup poured some as instructed, smelled the liquid, and carefully tried some, mindful of its hot state. He grimaced once he swallowed the bitter fluid.

"It's an acquired taste, and it does help." The queen shrugged, seeing his grimace.

Once all three had had their fill, Hiccup was addressed by Anna.

"Did you mean it, chief Hiccup, about the food?"

Hiccup nodded. "Yes. Meals in Berk, unless it is a special occasion, hold much less variety. Not to mention that I'm pretty sure that a lot of what I just ate doesn't exist that far north."

"Where is Berk, if you don't mind me asking." Queen Elsa asked. "I know of the general area of the Viking provinces, but did not know about Berk specifically."

Hiccup looked up at the ceiling, not really seeing it, and smiled.

"Heh. My mother used to say that Berk was situated twelve days north of hopeless, a few degrees south of freezing to death, and solidly on the meridian of misery."

Hiccup allowed his voice to fade as he was memories of his mother flowed through him. Like she had been, memories of her were gentle and happy. He shook his head slightly, losing the wistful smile and looking at the royal sisters. Anna's smile at him was clearly fond, but the queen's expression was inscrutable. No matter.

"Just to be it clear," Hiccup said "There is no such place called Hopeless or Freezing-To-Death. It's a figure of speech."

The queen looked at him oddly. "We're not stupid, chief Hiccup. We can tell a figure of speech when we hear one."

"Mah, just checking. You'd be surprised how many people think they are actual places when they hear this."

Both women looked at him in disbelief.

"Seriously?" The princess asked. "If it were any more obvious it'd poke people in the eye."

Hiccup shrugged. "I've learned not to underestimate human stupidity." He paused to drink a glass of water. "In any case, I'd need maps to navigate you from here to Berk with any degree of confidence, especially since I still don't know where 'here' is. Plus, I'm used to thinking of distances in flying terms, so I don't trust myself in measuring them with mundane means without the aid of maps or navigational instruments."

"We'll take care of that later, in the map room." The queen said with certainty.

"I have to admit," the princess interjected "the idea of flying fascinates me. What is it like?"

Hiccup beamed at her, a smile splitting his features. "It's the best feeling you can imagine, magnified by about six times."

The queen raised that maddeningly perfect eyebrow again. "Six? Why not five, or maybe ten?"

"I have a friend who's fond of statistics. He came up with the number six."

"What's the best thing about riding a dragon, then?" The princess asked him, wistful. Hiccup furrowed his brow, thinking about the question harder than he probably should. What was it he enjoyed the most? He couldn't say Toothless' company, because that didn't necessitate flying, exactly.

"The view." Hiccup finally decided, nodding his head at himself. "Definitely the view. Imagine the view from the tallest tower in the castle, and then imagine being ten times higher than that, while being able to move anywhere and look at things from every angle you can think of. You won't truly understand what I speak of until you see it for yourselves."

The princess was hanging from his every word, her eyes far away, but it was the queen's expression that caught his eye. She was considering his words and frowning, ever so slightly.

"And what is worst thing about it, then?" She asked. Her tone was not challenging, Hiccup could tell she was genuinely curious, trying to look at the matter from all angles. Her question drew a frown from him, and he gave it the necessary thought before deciding on an answer.

"The smell." He said quietly, lacking his earlier exuberance.

"The smell?" Princess Anna asked, laughing lightly. "I can see where you're coming from. We often visit the stables, so, we can emphasize."

Hiccup shook his head. "That's not the kind of smell I'm talking about."

After half a minute of his silence, he was prodded out of the his thoughts by the queen's gentle: "Then?"

He turned his upper body to look her in the eye, not wanting to miss a single detail of her reaction to his words.

"It's the smell of burning flesh. There is no worse smell, no smell more disgusting. It stains your clothes for days, and the area for even longer. It is revolting."

He watched their reactions with mixed feelings. The princess appeared to be forming a mental image and looked slightly queasy. The queen had paled, but he could see thoughts flying a mile a minute behind her eyes. What was she thinking, what was she considering? What conclusions did she draw about him?

"Apologies for bringing such talk to the breakfast table queen Elsa, princess Anna."

"You merely answered a question truthfully, we cannot fault you for that. We are done with breakfast, in any case." The blond replied, the calculating look still present in her face.

Hiccup tipped his head respectfully. None of them had had a bite in a good few minutes, but nor did they make any move to get up. He recognized that soon they would have to part for the day, but there was another matter that he wanted to address before such a time.

"There is something else I wanted to say." Hiccup began after he had gathered his thoughts, changing the subject.

At the queen's encouraging nod, he continued. "I know that it's been many years now, that you've heard it hundreds of times already and that it probably won't mean much to you coming from a stranger, but I wanted to offer my sincere condolences for the loss of your parents."

Hiccup saw both women be visibly taken aback by this and repressed the urge to flinch, not knowing if he'd overstepped his boundaries.

"I admit that I was curious about your status as queen considering your young age, and the fate of your parents was written in the history book you gave me. Apologies if I touched a sore subject." He finally got control of himself and stopped his rambling, hoping that he hadn't made things worse.

The sisters shared another one of those looks, the kind that he recognized from himself and Toothless but could not hope to translate on another pair, just like his looks with Toothless were understood by none other.

"Your condolences are graciously accepted, chief Hiccup." The princess told him gently. He held himself back from audibly letting out the breath he was holding, but he was flooded with relief, nonetheless.

"It is true that we have heard this a lot over the years," the queen continued "and that it can get irritating when it comes from certain people."

Princess Anna picked up her sister's train of thought. "People who have never experienced loss, and thus could not hope to understand us, but nevertheless tried to appear sorrowful to earn favor."

"But such is not the case with you, is it, chief Hiccup?" The Queen asked. Hiccup had had enough training with he Thorston twins over the years to avoid whipping his head back and forth when they did the whole siblings-completing-each-other's-sentences thing, thankfully.

"After all," the princess continued with a small, sad smile. "You can't be much older than Elsa, yet you are chief of your own tribe."

Hiccup supposed that their logic was sound.

"It is true." He confirmed. "My mother died early in my childhood. My father ... my father's death was more recent, but still a good few years back. They are both in Valhalla, now."

"You have our sincere condolences, chief Hiccup." The princess said. Hiccup did not fail to notice that she was clutching her sister's hand under the table. For whose sake, he did not know.

"Our parents were lost at sea, as you must know from the history book." The eldest sister said. "What happened to yours?" She paled momentarily, before hastily adding "Of course, we understand if it's not something you wish to share. We do not want to intrude."

Hiccup was well aware that it was hypocritical of him to withhold all information regarding the matter, but knew equally well that he could not reveal majority of what happened, for reasons of his tribe's security. Showing Toothless was big enough, he did not need to advertise that his tribe controlled more than one dragon.

"My mother was killed during a raid when I was six." He said eventually. He could not reveal the nature of the raid, but assumed that the royal sisters would draw their own conclusions as to their attackers. From the sympathetic looks he received, they must have.

"My father passed away in the heat of battle, during the war leading to my ascension to the chieftainship." He said, again deliberately revealing as little as he could. He could feel the old despair rise up again, and he squashed it like an insect the moment it reared its ugly head. He needed to be in control right now, not wallow in guilt and sorrow. He'd already done that years ago and it hadn't helped him any.

"We're sorry." The princess said quietly. Hiccup shook his head at her.

"My father perished in battle, but do not doubt that it was a death worthy of a great warrior. Sometimes, when we're feeling particularly happy, those who knew my father and I like to think that he died ... happy."

The tense silence was broken by the queen. "Why?" She breathed out. Hiccup smiled wanly.

"Because by doing so, he saved _me_."

He noticed the eyes of the two women focused on his cheek and realized that he was unconsciously tracing the long scar on his face. He stopped the movement immediately and straightened his posture. He'd revealed much; _too_ much. Nothing that could compromise Berk, but he'd still opened up to two people who were not only strangers, but also royals of a foreign kingdom. Who knew what of the things he said could be perceived as a weakness, a threat, or anything in between. He cursed his need for drama. Why couldn't he reign his tongue in for once? What kind of chief talked like this on the very first day of his stay abroad?

"We're sorry." The phrase was repeated, this time by the queen. Hiccup looked at her, carefully, but saw nothing but compassion in her eyes. He didn't let it fully convince him. He'd been duped before, and was far from completely confident in his ability to read people.

"Thank you."

"It must have been very hard." The princess said. Looking at her, Hiccup felt relatively certain that compassion in _her_ eyes held no traces of deceit. The princess seemed like an open book, with only kindness and understanding written on its pages.

"It was." He agreed. "But this is Berk. Vikings understand _loss_ very early on." _Or become losses themselves, _he mentally added.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He had to get out of there. He had to_ stop speaking_.

The queen must have noticed his discomfort, because she offered him an out. She pushed her chair back and rose regally.

"Thank you for attending breakfast with us, chief Hiccup. We extend to you the same invitation for tomorrow. Enie should inform you of the times for lunch and dinner. However, do not feel obligated to attend. We would be glad to have you, but you are free to move about the city as you wish and eat at your own pace. If there is something more formal that we would particularly want you present in, you will be informed well in advance." She added the last bit with a sheepish smile. Obviously, he wasn't the only one who felt embarrassed with last night's events.

He offered the queen a grateful smile as he rose.

"Many thanks. I have enjoyed your company, and shall endeavor to do the same tomorrow."

"What are your plans for the rest of the day, chief Haddock?" The princess asked him.

"I'm going to wake up the lizard, first, and then I was hoping to nag Ernie into giving me a complete tour of the castle, actually. I figured I'll have found some interesting things to see or do after that."

The Queen nodded at him. "That is a great idea. I would have loved to accompany you, but time does not permit."

Hiccup smiled. "I understand, queen Elsa, trust me." He was slightly surprised to receive a smile in response, but accepted it nonetheless.

The three of them moved towards the exit of the room as servants surged in from the side doors to clear the table. Outside, Ernie was already waiting, hands clasped behind his back.

"My Queen, Princess." He bowed to the two women, who nodded at him.

"I hope you enjoy your tour of the castle, chief Hiccup." The queen said. "Perhaps our paths will cross."

"See you, chief Haddock!" Princess Anna waved cheerfully as she and her sister move away. Hiccup waved back, before turning to Ernie.

The young servant raised an eyebrow. Maybe the queen was running a class, somewhere.

"How did it go?"

Hiccup did his best to look offended.

"Why do you think it went anything other than perfectly?"

The eyebrow grew more intense, and Hiccup, with his senses for such things finely honed by the experiences of his childhood, had the sudden feeling that he was being mocked, albeit in good nature.

"Oy! No comments are allowed from tour guides, thank you very much."

"Is a tour the plan for today, then?" Ernie asked. His tone was neutral, but Hiccup could read the young man's mocking in his eyes and shook his head.

"Yes, so get useful, eh? I'm not paying you to do nothing!"

Ernie started walking down the corridor, Hiccup next to him.

"You do realize you're not the one paying me, right?"

"Back-talking isn't allowed, either. Onwards!"

**~H~**

To Hiccup's consternation, touring the castle was easier said than done.

They walked the way back to Hiccup's rooms, and this time the viking paid attention on the path. When they reached the doors, he was relatively certain that he'd be able to find his way again.

They found the Night Fury gulping down the last of a group of fish, free of his harness and mechanical tailfin. It took the dragon a few seconds to come out of post-feeding contended bliss, but when he noticed Hiccup he bounded towards him, crooning happily.

"Hey bud, I love you too." Hiccup chuckled as the dragon nuzzled his snout on his chest, while he caressed the onyx creature's head with his hands.

It took a good minute for Toothless to open his eyes, stop purring, and observe that they were not alone in the room. He turned his head, taking in Ernie with eyes wide, full of curiosity. His ear flaps were upright and twitching, a sure sign of the beast's interest and good mood.

"This is Ernie. You met yesterday." The brief glance from Toothless confirmed that the dragon had heard him. To his credit, Ernie did not waver under the dragon's inquisitive stare.

"He's the one who brought you the fish." Hiccup added, just to be sure. Toothless' right ear twitched. He started moving forward, approaching Ernie.

Ernie did not bat an eyelash as the black dragon sniffed around him, obviously finding the scent of fish and confirming Hiccup's words. Toothless tried to reach inside Ernie's uniform, convinced that there must be more food there.

"He doesn't have fish on him, Toothless. Lay off him."

The dragon's gaze flickered between Hiccup and Ernie, eyes slightly closed and ears nearly flattened. Hiccup recognized the dragon's exasperation, though he doubted Ernie could decipher his facial expressions quite yet.

"We're going to be seeing a lot of him, Toothless. Ernie is a good guy and he wants to be your friend."

On his words, Toothless went back to inspecting the servant boy. Ernie met the dragon's stare, and allowed his face to smile encouragingly.

Hiccup was amused to note that Toothless was about to regurgitate another fish. He'd still not managed to make him understand that humans did not value raw fish as much as dragons did. Nevertheless, it was a move Toothless always made when he wanted to extend a claw of friendship, so to speak. Sharing his food was the best opening a dragon knew, and had tremendous meaning between dragons.

He'd been hoping for this to happen when he told Ernie to bring fish, but was not sure that Toothless would open up so soon.

True to form, Toothless sat on his tail to make the regurgitation easier, and after hacking for a few seconds spat the tail end of a fish that Hiccup couldn't really recognize.

Ernie's expression finally lost its carefully controlled visage, and the young man looked at Hiccup in confusion and a silent plea for help. Toothless stared at Ernie patiently, as if waiting for a particularly dim child to pick up the piece of bread set in front of him and start eating.

Very carefully, Hiccup mimed taking the fish in his hands and taking a hearty bite out of it, making sure to include chewing and swallowing. Ernie went slightly green, but understood the severity of the next few moment.

"Thank you, Toothless." He said, and Hiccup was impressed to note that his voice wavered only a little bit.

The servant reached for the fish, visibly repressing a grimace at the slimy surface, and brought the carcass up to his mouth. After a moment's hesitation, he bit down on the flesh of the fish and cut off a piece, chewing it carefully on his mouth before gulping it down. Hiccup was certain that he had not kept his face as clear as Ernie did, when he'd been presented with the same situation. The citizens of Arendelle sure knew how to stay stoic.

Toothless seemed satisfied if the curve of his lips and the firmness of his ear flaps was any indication, and he received the proffered remains of the fish from Ernie with no complain, gulping them down once again within seconds.

After he did this, he approached his head to Ernie again. This time he didn't sniff him, only stared into his eyes, bringing his head halfway between them. Hiccup saw Ernie glance at him with uncertainty again, prompting the viking chief to nod at him encouragingly.

Ernie reached his hand, tentatively at first, and touched the Night Fury. Toothless wiggled his head a little, and Ernie took the hint, caressing the smooth scales. To his surprise, the dragon let out a low purring sound from deep inside his throat.

"That went well." Hiccup said, clapping his hands with a smile. Ernie looked apprehensively at him, though he didn't stop patting and caressing Toothless.

"Was there doubt of this?" He asked. Hiccup repressed a grin, these people were just too easy to tease.

"Well, either this or he would have taken your hands, because they smell the most like fish."

Ernie tore his hand away from Toothless and backed away, his back hitting the door. Toothless opened his eyes and stared confusedly at him, not understanding why he stopped. Upon hearing Hiccup's snickers, the dragon turned to him and uttered a questioning warble.

Ernie looked at him and noticed his almost silent laughter, before his eyes narrowed.

"There was never any danger, was there?" He asked, though his tone was resigned, as if he already knew the answer and was just confirming his theory.

"No, there wasn't. Even if Toothless didn't like you, he wouldn't attack you." Hiccup explained as Ernie straightened his posture and smoothed out his uniform. When Toothless trotted the space between them and pushed his snout in his hand, Ernie didn't protest, instead going back to rubbing the Night Fury.

"I suppose I'll have to get used to your particular brand of humor, my Lord."

Hiccup narrowed his eyes. "Unless you want to receive personal and intensive lessons on the nastier side of my humor, I suggest no more slip-ups on calling me Hiccup when we are alone."

"Apologies, Hiccup."

"Good, good!" The viking said, in complete contrast to his quiet, threatening tone of a few seconds earlier. "Now, if Toothless has had enough petting, let's go see what this castle has to offer, shall we?"

"Right." Ernie nodded at him. He turned his head to look at the dragon, who, in turn, was looking at him, curiosity evident in his eyes.

"Toothless?" Ernie asked, to Hiccup's great surprise. The way the Night Fury's eyes zeroed in on his own must have given him all the reply he needed, for he continued. "Do you want to go outside with Hiccup and I? I will show the two of you the rest of the castle. Do you want to see the castle?"

Hiccup had to fight to suppress his grin. Ernie was turning out much better than he'd dared hope.

As a reply, the dragon trotted back to Hiccup, got behind him, and started pushing the viking chief towards the door with his head.

"Oy, quit it. The tour was _my_ idea, you don't have to convince me." He said, bemused. Ignoring his protests, Toothless pushed him all the way to the door, which Ernie had helpfully opened, and then beyond it, into the hallway outside.

Finally free, Hiccup snorted and straightened his tunic, the Night Fury practically bouncing around them in his excitement. He could understand Toothless' hurry to get out of the room. He had slept through most of yesterday, resting from the long journey. Now he was recovered, and could not take being stuffed inside a room for long hours.

"This way, I believe." Ernie instructed, and they began walking, Toothless on Hiccup's right side, tailing swishing behind him.

"Where are we headed?"

"I think the Gardens are a good first destination. Lots of space for Toothless to move, and the Gardens themselves are very impressive." Hiccup nodded his agreement.

They went down a few floors down, and out a big door, though smaller than the gate leading to the Courtyard.

Porches hugged the length of the walls, covered by wooden roofs painted light blue. A few equally wooden steps and they were on the beginnings of the Gardens.

Cobbled paths led deeper into the Gardens, separated by hedges tall and short, which divided the open area into sections, each filled with magnificent specimens of flora, ranging from small fields of flowers with all the colors of the rainbow, to tall tress carefully trimmed and brimming with life and energy. Soft notes of birds reverberated around the garden, completing the serene and peaceful environment. A few servants had been working on this hedge or the other, and were now looking at the three of them with half-hidden curiosity.

"Toothless, please stay on the cobbled path, otherwise your paws will dig up the ground and the gardeners won't be happy." Toothless regarded Ernie with wide eyes, before turning his gaze downwards, to the path of stone that they were currently walking on. Grumbling, he scooted closer to the center, heeding Ernie's words. The servant smiled, satisfied.

They walked slowly through the gardens and Ernie took the time to explain to Hiccup what this or that flower or brush was. The servant sadly could not provide all the details Hiccup would have liked, and he did not really want to bother any of the gardeners yet. Toothless meandered along with them, not nearly as impressed as Hiccup was. He took particular interest in a pair of butterflies, watching them intently and following their erratic flight pattern with his gaze.

The path through the gardens led them around the second layer of the castle walls, almost a complete circle around it. By the time they finished, many more people were also taking strolls over the gardens. Servants moved purposefully and guests or visitors strolled slowly, enjoying the beautiful day in the gardens.

Hiccup did not fail to note the looks he and Toothless received. They ranged from the outwardly frightful, with an elderly woman gasping upon sighting Toothless and fainting on the spot, to the openly interested and the secretly assessing. From well-dressed nobles watching Toothless with wonder and hints of fear, to gaggles of young women trying and failing to be discreet as they assessed the viking chief.

Doubtlessly, everyone knew of his arrival, what with his very public entrance into the city. Perhaps his enclosure in the smithy for a full day had also spread, and his absence from the feast yesterday must have been felt. What impression did that make?

Hiccup knew that he was not behaving as he probably should. He'd gone on diplomatic missions before, and they'd all gone without a hitch. Attacking a queen, spurning her invitations, and scaring her subjects did not a good diplomat make. He was certain that if he'd planned this visit and prepared for it, it would have played out a lot more differently.

But he hadn't, and it was too late now. He was a guest at Arendelle and though he was the chief of Berk, he was hardly there in his official capacity. Little more than a tourist, really. So he could be excused if he didn't play the political game and instead indulged in his curiosity, right?

Hiccup snorted. Perhaps if he kept thinking that, he'd eventually believe it.

The entered back into the castle, leaving the beautiful gardens behind.

Through the hallways Ernie led them, and from them into the biggest rooms. The ballroom; nearly cavernous in size, with sleek marble floors and beautiful decorations, though it was deserted currently.

The clock tower, with life-sized human figures and one of the biggest, most elaborate mechanical creations Hiccup had ever seen. After ten minutes of study and three foiled disassembly attempts, Ernie insisted that they move on, much to the viking's consternation.

He showed them the Portrait Room, a very carefully spaced room with the walls lined with beautiful art pieces and comfortable-looking couches.  
Up and down floors they went. From the Portrait Room on the ground floor to a grand balcony, four floors up, that gazes out beyond the walls and over the city. Then down and outside again, to the royal stables, where majestic horses slept and ate, tended by the servants. Toothless did not approach, but Hiccup indulged his curiosity and pestered the servants with questions about the care of the animals.

After the stables, Ernie insisted that they go for lunch. Hiccup politely refused to attend a public feast, citing that he wasn't ready yet, nor dressed for it. Ernie accepted and led him and Toothless to what Hiccup recognized was the same room he'd had breakfast, earlier. He was brought much more than he could possibly eat, while Toothless ate half a doe with gusto.

By now Hiccup was beginning to understand how the castle is navigated, but Ernie led them to parts of the castle that he hadn't been before, thus eliminating his progress.

He was brought into the Library. It was a cozy but spacious room, with a fireplace and couches for comfortable reading, and four lines of sizable bookcases.

Something didn't fit right.

"Ernie," Hiccup called, receiving a look from the young man who was watching Toothless like a hawk while the dragon was smelling some books. When he had the servant's attention, he continued. "The wall here is fake, isn't it? The next room in this hallways doesn't start for a good distance yet. I'd say the Library should be twice as big as it is. What's going on?"

"It's not exactly a state secret, but beyond this wall is the royal library. No one is allowed in there but the queen, the princess, the council and the servant in charge of it. Hidden like this, it doesn't present temptation for people who aren't allowed."

Hiccup understood the meaningful look, and raised his hands in a placating gesture.

"I didn't say I wanted in. If it's not allowed then it's not allowed. I was just curious."

"Of course." Ernie said, voice carefully laced with sarcasm. Hiccup resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

They left the Library after that.

"Say, Ernie, can you arrange a meeting between me and madam Gertrude?"

Ernie looked at him, surprised. "The overseer?" Hiccup nodded.

"She seemed like an interesting and down to earth person."

"I will tell Madam Gertrude that you've asked after her."

"Thank you."

They didn't say anything else, because they were suddenly not alone in the hallway. On the opposite side, two men were walking briskly, coming their way.

Hiccup recognized the bald man as the general. What was his name? Mertok? The other person, he did not recognize. Unlike the crisp suits of Arendelle, this man wore a white tunic from neck to feet. He wore something on his head that Hiccup had not seen before, a weird cross between a hat and a turban. His skin was slightly darker, but not overly so. He was younger than the general, but still much older than Hiccup, dark eyes inspecting him and Toothless with open interest.

The two men came to a stop in front of the three of them, and it was only polite for them to stop, as well. Hiccup glanced quickly at Toothless and, upon noticing the dragon's mistrustful gaze, placed a calming hand on his neck.

"Chief Haddock, mister Sherner." The general greeted them, and Hiccup absently remembered that Sherner was Ernie's last name.

"Mister ... Mertok, was it?" Hiccup asked and received a nod from the aging man.

"I am Shad Mertok, Commander General of her majesty's armed forces. This here," he waved at the man next to him, who bowed politely "is Marn Gestar, the Grandlandian ambassador." Hiccup had no idea where Grandland was, or how important it was, but strove to make no show of either.

Gestar bowed again, before speaking. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Chief Haddock."

Hiccup did not correct their use of his title. He felt no inclination to do so. "Likewise, master Gestar."

"It is good to finally meet you. You stirred a lot of interest with your arrival. Many were hoping to meet you yesterday, me included."

"Apologies, master Gestar. I wished not offend anybody."

"No offense was taken, my Lord, none at all. And is this the dragon Toothless, then?" The Grandlandian asked, moving his gaze the the Night Fury. Hiccup's fingers tensed on Toothless' neck. He did not like the calculating look on the man's eyes. Either of them, actually.

"Indeed."

"Magnificent beast." The general said, nodding approvingly. Hiccup rather doubted the general was speaking about Toothless' magnetic personality. The dragon himself reacted to the word beast, slightly withdrawing his lips, hinting at the razor sharp teeth underneath.

"We don't like the word beast." Hiccup said.

"Apologies." Mertok said automatically, and Hiccup again had to repress the urge to scowl. He disliked politicians. He hated having to examine each and every sentence for legitimacy before accepting it.

"It obeys your every command, does it?" The ambassador asked. This time, Hiccup allowed himself to grimace.

"Toothless is a he, and _he_ trusts me, as I trust him."

"Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating."

"Indeed," the general cut in, returning his gaze to Hiccup. "It was an honor to make your acquaintance, Chief Haddock. I wish you the best for the rest of your stay here, and hope that we will meet again before you depart."

"Likewise, general."

"Farewell, for now, Chief Haddock." The Grandlandian said, bowing once again. Hiccup bowed his head respectfully in his direction. With one last lingering look, the two men stepped to the side and passed by Ernie, continuing their way down the hallway.

Hiccup, Ernie and Toothless turned their heads to watch them leave, the dragon growling from deep inside his throat.

"Relax, Toothless." Hiccup murmured.

"Welcome to court politics, Hiccup." Ernie said, before continuing down the corridor.

The young servant led them higher into the castle, into the residential areas. He pointed out the princess' quarters, the queen's old chambers, the abandoned quarters of the old king and queen and the staircase that lead higher still; all the way to the queen's current bedroom, her office and the roof.

Then they went downwards, Ernie intending to lead them back towards the Courtyard and from there to the lighthouse.

"What is this?" Hiccup asked, seeing a pair of half-open doors, big enough to fit even Toothless. Ernie stopped and looked where Hiccup was pointing. He diligently went and opened the doors fully, allowing entry.

The room was relatively spacious, but sported none of the decorations of the rest of the castle. It was mostly made of dark marble, with stone benches, seats and tables along the walls, and a deep depression on the center of the room the perimeter of which was higher than the rest of the floor. Steps lead to the bottom of the hole.

"What _is_ that?" Hiccup asked in wonderment.

"This is the Bath-house." Ernie declared gesturing around the room. Pointing to the depression on the floor, he continued. "This here is the pool. When on use, it fills with water of a controlled temperature. It is, in essence, a giant bathtub like the one in your quarters."

"Why is it empty?"

"There is nothing scheduled for today. It is not as hard to fill it as would seem, but keeping the temperature and purity of the water is quite hard. Hence, we only fill it when necessary."

"Fascinating." And it really was. Hiccup had seen so many things that he desperately wanted to study. He had vowed to visit that clock and figure it out. Now he'd have to do the same with the controlled-temperature pool.

"Quite. Ready to move on?"

"Yeah."

The returned to the part of the castle that Hiccup recognized, intending to visit the Lighthouse and the Chapel. On their way to the Courtyard, the reached a spacious room, almost full of people.

Their arrival hushed all conversation for a few seconds, before the people remembered their manners and returned to their conversation. Hiccup noted people of all shapes, sizes and dress. Peasant and nobles, Arendelle locals and what had to be foreign officials, all standing or sitting in this room. To his left a set of double bronze doors were closed, a pair of guards on each side. To his right, the doors leading to the courtyard.

"Ernie?" he asked quietly. Toothless was eyeing the people with wariness, but thankfully no hostility. Hiccup did not cease rubbing his friend's neck.

"To our left is the Great Hall, otherwise known as the Throne Room. There, Queen Elsa holds court, at the moment."

As if to prove his point, the bronze doors open and a pair of noblemen stepped out. Through the doors, Hiccup saw a grand room, lavishly decorated in deep red. On the far end from the door was a slender golden throne, elevated on a pedestal of three steps, above which the royal crest of Arendelle hang. The ice sorceress sat on the throne in a regal purple dress and the circlet of her post in her braided hair, looking every bit the Queen that she was.

The sides of room were filled with people, all dressed elegantly and obviously important in some way, shape or form. The Queen's Court.

Queen Elsa caught his eye immediately through the doors. A small smile appeared on her face, and Hiccup realized that he was staring and that his mouth was slightly open, a fact that he rectified immediately.

The Queen motioned to her left with her index, and a soldier walked up to the throne. The queen leaned forward and whispered to him, after which he nodded and headed for the bronze doors.

Hiccup had a bad feeling as soon as the guard reached the guards at the door and spoke to them. These two stopped the pair of nobles that had been walking to the doors. They sputtered, citing that it was their turn, but held their silence at the guards' insistence.

The first guard looked at their group and walked up to them, and Hiccup had to fight with himself not to groan or rub his eyes. Ernie took two steps forward, and exchanged a few quiet words with the guard who, upon received a confirmatory nod from the young man, returned inside the room.

The bronze doors closed. Hiccup blinked in confusion.

"What's going on, Ernie?"

"We have been called to present ourselves in the Queen's court. Well, you and Toothless have."

"Then why did the doors just close?"

"It is protocol for foreign royalty to be announced before the doors open to receive them."

Hiccup shook his head, leading Toothless closer to the bronze doors.

"And I suppose the chances of skipping without insulting everyone here and their grandmothers is slim to none?"

"We might make a court politician of you yet, Hiccup." Ernie said, drawing a chuckle from Hiccup.

Through the doors, the sound of his name floated, among other words that he didn't make out. He turned to Ernie, who nodded.

Hiccup straightened his posture and squared his shoulders as the two guards opened the bronze doors. Between him and the Throne was a rich red carpet. On the sides of the room were seats for the courtiers, and there was a door on each side of the opposite wall. Guards lined the walls.

Assuming he had already been announced, Hiccup walked with slow but determined steps through the length of the room. Everything done in this room was for show, and he could give shows. He kept his hand on Toothless' neck. The dragon himself had stood straighter, becoming quite a bit taller in this way, as his neck was no longer stretched forwards. His wings lay half-open, a way to make himself look bigger and more imposing. Judging by the faces of various courtiers, it had worked.

When he reached what he deemed to be a respectable distance from the Queen -not too close, but close enough to hold an equal conversation-, he stopped. He tipped his head and the upper part of his torso respectfully.

Toothless, having long ago learned to recognize when Hiccup needed him to be quiet and still, did so now; keeping himself straight, strong, and covertly menacing.

"Queen Elsa."

"Chief Haddock. With the power vested in me, I officially welcome you to the kingdom of Arendelle."

"Much obliged. It is an honor to be here and witness Arendelle's wonders."

"We welcome and recognize you as the Chief, and therefore representative, of the Viking tribe of Berk. You are welcome to reside here for as long as you so desire."

"Again, many thanks, Queen Elsa."

"A debt owed is a debt that must be paid, Chief Haddock. Arendelle has slighted you, and this we will not forget."

"Banish such thoughts from your mind. I invoke no such debt. Let the meeting between our people be one of equals, not one of responsibility and consequences."

The small smile on the Queen's face widened imperceptibly, but Hiccup caught it, and proverbially grasped it with both hands, grinning in victory.

"A generous offer. Very well, it shall be so. I look forward to negotiations between us. I believe we have much to offer to each other."

"As you say, Queen Elsa."

"You are invited to attend Court, if you so wish. The dragon Toothless is, of course, invited as well."

"I am honored by the invitation, but today I had wished to complete my tour of your magnificent castle. Perhaps in the days to come, I will take you up on it."

"Very well. I hope we see each other soon."

"I very much think we will."

"Have a nice evening, Chief Haddock."

"And to you, Queen Elsa."

"Try to catch the sunset from the west tower. It is truly a sight to behold."

With these parting words, Hiccup bowed his head again and turned on his heel, marching with the same purposeful stride back to the bronze doors, which opened to allow him and Toothless exit. He resisted the urge to look around at the faces of the courtiers, knowing that every set of eyes was trained on him.

Ernie was waiting for them outside. He nodded upon seeing them, and turned on his heels. Together, they all walked outside and to the courtyard, the people giving Toothless a wide berth, as he passed.

"How did it go?" Ernie asked. Hiccup glanced at him, and realized that the servant was fighting back a smile.

"What makes you think it went anything other than perfectly?"

Ernie snorted, but held his tongue. Hiccup relayed the Queen's suggestion to the young man, and Ernie agreed. He decided to combine their destination with the Queen's suggestion, since sundown was nearly upon them.

Sadly, the Lighthouse was not big enough to fit Toothless inside, and the dragon agreed to wait at the entrance. Climbing the winding stairs, the two men found themselves at the top railing, gazing out at the fjord beyond the walls.

"Look." Ernie said simply, as the sun started dipping behind the mountain and the sea, taking an orange-red hue as it did so, and painting the water with the same color.

Hiccup flew a Night Fury, and was no stranger to breathtaking sunsets. On the other hand, his vast experience with them made him all the more able to appreciate the really good ones. This fit in that category, no doubt.

They watched in silent wonder, until the sun was completely gone. Then, reluctantly, Ernie lead them back down, where they reunited with the bored dragon.

"Are you hungry, bud?" The dragon's positive crooning was all the reply either man needed.

"Time for dinner, Hiccup?"

"Yeah. Let me see if I can find the way to that mess room?"

"By all means."

It took a few minutes and two wrong turns, but Hiccup finally lead the three to the room he'd had breakfast and lunch in, grinning triumphantly when he recognized the door, Ernie following behind him diligently.

Inside, it was pretty much a repeat experience of lunch, only with different food varieties and this time parts of wild pig spread out for Toothless. Ernie ate with them at Hiccup's insistence, seating himself apprehensively on the proffered chair next to the viking.

After everyone was fed and watered, they exited the room and Hiccup started walking the path back to his quarters.

"Don't you have anything you want to do, Ernie? Following me around all day must get pretty tiring."

"It is my duty, and it is not unpleasant."

"Nevertheless, you must need some me-time. Go on. I'll be in my quarters; probably draw something or other."

"Are you certain?" Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"Relax. You can report to the Queen that I stayed in my quarters, because that's exactly what I'll do. Staying with me any longer won't help you."

Ernie's face reddened, and he began to speak, talking hurriedly.

"Hiccup, I didn't-"

"Don't lie, Ernie, it's bad form. Of course you did. It makes sense for the Queen to want me watched, and I don't really mind. I promise I won't leave my quarters, so you can go and enjoy yourself in a tavern or whatever it is you youngsters do these days."

Ernie still looked embarrassed and a little lost, but he managed to regain some of his composure.

"Are you sure?" He asked again.

"Yes, I am. Go. We'll see each other again tomorrow, yeah?"

"As you say, Hiccup."

Ernie left them at the door to their quarters, bowed deeply, and walked away.

Hiccup let Toothless inside the room, closed the door and undressed, intending to take a bath. He took his time, relaxing in the warm water and experimenting with the different soaps and creams. He slipped when he got out, but managed to hold onto the basin and thus not break anything, for which he thanked Odin endlessly.

He found the Night Fury scratching the door to the balcony. He clicked it open, allowing Toothless to walk outside and curl around himself on the balcony floor. He rose his head to the sky and crooned sadly.

"I'm sorry we didn't fly today, bud. I'll try to arrange something for tomorrow. It's more complicated than you think."

Toothless dismissed him with a warbling sound and a shove of his tail. Hiccup left him to his moping. He'd come around eventually. He noted his original clothes and armor, perfectly clean, folded and placed at the foot of his bed near his bags.

He sat himself on his desk after taking his notebook in hand. He scribbled some of his thoughts on it, blessedly using ink. An hour later, he began working on his sketch of the castle again, now better able to put details, having seen it up close.

Eventually sleepiness overtook him. After a massive yawn worthy of any dragon, he undressed in order to go to bed. Outside, it was completely dark and he could only barely make out Toothless' sleeping form. He took the time to unlatch his prosthetic, and positively melted on the soft mattress, letting out a soft sigh.

He was out like a light not long after that.

**~H~**

He was woken up by the banging on his door. His eyes snapped open as he sprang to a sitting position, holding his dagger aloft and looking around wildly. He gaze locked onto the door, at the same time as someone banged on it again.

"Chief Haddock, wake up." Someone from outside the door shouted. "Open this door, chief Haddock." They called again, banging once more for good measure.

"Who is it?" Hiccup called cautiously, getting out of the bed but not letting go of the knife. He haphazardly latched the absolutely necessary straps of his prosthetic so he'd be able to at least stand and move a bit. Toothless had woken up and was standing on the threshold of the balcony, growling menacingly at the door.

Instead of a reply, whoever was outside threw the doors open. Soldiers poured inside, armed to the teeth and more than Hiccup could count with a glance.

"What is this?" He shouted, but the soldiers paid him no mind. They arranged themselves around his side of the room, surrounding him. The ones with the halberds lowered them towards him and Toothless, while the rest with the crossbows took aim.

Toothless roared and closed the distance between them, placing himself between him and the soldiers. He let out a menacing cry again, and the soldiers faltered. Wisps of gas were already escaping the sides of his maw.

"Recall your dragon, Chief Haddock. We mean you no harm!" The leader of the group of soldiers, holding a halberd, called. Hiccup very much doubted that, but he had to avoid a fight. With so many halberds and crossbows against them in such an enclosed space, they had no hope of winning.

"Toothless, back!" He commanded, and the Night Fury relented, taking a few steps back and lowering himself, but not leaving his spot between Hiccup and the soldiers.

"Apologies for barging in, but we need to search your quarters. We're looking for some people, and we need to make sure they're not here. Then, we will leave you in peace."

Hiccup frowned at the soldier. Neither he nor his colleagues had lowered their weapons.

"Alright, you can look. Just don't shoot, yeah?"

The leader nodded, and raised his halberd to the normal position. After this, the rest of the soldiers stopped aiming at them. Half the group moved around them, to search the room, the wardrobe and the bathroom.

Hiccup cautiously moved around Toothless, patting him on the head to calm him. The dragon was still growling quietly, feeling trapped inside the walled room and with so many armed soldiers. Hiccup hushed him and rubbed his head, and slowly Toothless relaxed, though he remained guarded.

Leaving Toothless, he approached the leader of the guards.

"What's this about? What happened?"

The leader removed his helmet, looking at the viking gravely.

"There's been an attack on the Queen."

**~H~**


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes: **Beta'd by the amazing Sorrows, AKA Yes Miss Lady. Grovel at her feet, weaklings.

**~E~**

**~E~**

**A Chance Encounter, Chapter Six**

**~E~**

**~E~**

Elsa was pulled from her slumber by the sound of steel hitting steel.

Groggily she pried her eyes open, and for a few sleepy seconds she wondered what had disturbed her. She pulled a hand out of the warm covers and rubbed her eyes and loose hair. Then her brain caught up with her ears.

She immediately stilled. Muffled shouting and the unmistakable sound of sword on sword approaching her door. There was a shout, the sound of metal striking flesh and something heavy hit her door and slid down.

Adrenaline shot through her and she sprung to her feet, her nightgown twisting around her legs as she tried to surge out of the bed. Quietly she walked to the door, intent on helping her guards against whoever had dared -and, most worrying, _managed_- to attempt an attack on her private quarters.

She heard a second pained cry followed by the thump of a body falling. Then, the telltale springing sound of crossbows replaced the sound of metal on metal, and she recognized the voices of the two guards who were posted outside her room at night as they cried out and fell to the floor.

Then, there was silence. Elsa held her breath, her hand hovering over the door handle. In the sudden quiet she heard the soft metallic sounds of a crossbow being cocked.

She knew that she should not spring out of the room right now. The attackers would most certainly be holding their breath to see if they'd woken her.

Elsa moved as silently as she could to the corner on the opposite side of her room than the bed. Let them think she was still asleep.

Indeed, a minute later she heard a key being inserted in the keyhole, probably scavenged from the bodies of her guards. The door opened just an inch, but Elsa knew that from that angle all they could see was the vague form of the bed, and without light it was impossible to tell that she wasn't there anymore.

The door was flung open and four men surged in, weapons aloft.

The door was well oiled and opened silently. The torches in the corridor had been doused, Elsa could only make out the dark outlines of several large men. There was a whisper and a heavy thump; a crossbow bolt buried itself into the pillow she had been lying on. Confused by the ensuing silence, the men stepped further into the moonlit room.

She didn't recognize anyone. They were dressed in black and dark brown leather, and most of their heads were covered. Two of them carried crossbows while the other two had drawn swords. They moved inside the room, and Elsa decided to make her move before they realized that she wasn't on the bed.

Stepping out of her corner, she saw outside the open door a fifth attacker, standing above the bloodied bodies of her guards amid two dead enemies. At the sight of her dead subjects her rage bubbled to the surface and ignited, manifesting itself in a swirl of snow around her.

The men noticed her just as she raised her hands and sent a torrent of frost towards the one closest to her. He had managed to turn towards her and instinctively let fly a bolt, but it was frozen mere inches away from the weapon and, a split second later, he was enveloped in snow. The snow immediately crystalized, forming flawless ice around the surprised invader.

Right after sending the torrent of snow, she raised her naked foot and furiously stomped on the ground. Her ice magic surged across the floor, freezing it, heading quickly towards the group of attackers. Before the second archer had time to reload, aim and shoot, the wave was upon them. Ice rose from the ground, shaping itself around the forms of the three remaining men and locking their limbs in place. In the span of two seconds, they were completely entombed in solid blocks of ice.

She turned her glare at the fifth attacker, only to see that he had fled while she dealt with his four friends. No matter, he wouldn't go far. Her eyes lingered on the dead bodies of her people, and if she wasn't so furious she would have cried then and there.

She turned her gaze to the four trapped attackers.

She should spare them. They were spies, assassins, hostages. This latest attempt on her life was well planned and almost successful, she needed to know where it came from.

If she weren't so angry, or if she were a few years younger, uncertain of herself and her powers and with something to prove, she may have spared them.

She span around her center, her anger manifesting in the form of a loud snarl as she pivoted. She brought clawed hands to bear and, at the completion of her spin and the zenith of her shout, she tore them to the left side. Immediately, three of the four ice prisons shattered into a million pieces, a fate shared by the men trapped within them.

The last one was spared not out of mercy, but because they needed someone to interrogate. In time he, too, would join his dead comrades in eternal damnation.

Her gaze swept over the mess in her room and the bodies outside. Distantly, she heard the sounds of more guards approaching.

A glance outside her window proved that there was not even the idea of sunlight outside. She let out a sigh, rubbing her eyes, suddenly feeling very tired.

She didn't think she'd be getting any sleep tonight.

**~E~**

Elsa took a deep gulp from her coffee mug, swallowing the bitter liquid, eyes closed as the scalding liquid traveled down her throat. Opening her eyes, she looked around her office. Half a dozen guards were arrayed around the room, weapons ready with the Commander of the castle's security standing at attention in front of her desk, a furious look in his eyes. She did not argue about the extra guards. At least she'd managed to get dressed properly before they had hustled her here.

Elsa felt the beginnings of a migraine. And it was not even 8 in the morning.  
"Progress report." She ordered. The greying man in front of her bowed, and began speaking.

"We've combed the entire castle, my Queen. There was no sight of him."

Elsa scowled, much too tired to be mindful of her expression.

"You mean to tell me that not only did a team of seven people enter my castle undetected, but that one of them managed to _escape_ without getting caught?"

"We are still sweeping, my Queen, but yes, it would appear so." She did not know her head of castle security as well as she should, but could see steel on his eyes. Elsa realized that the man knew that he had messed up, but was not about to sugar-coat it or evade responsibility. Courageous man.  
Just like the three dead guards.

"You do realize that if I hadn't heard the commotion outside my quarters, I would most likely be dead now? That three of our men _are_ dead?"

"Yes, my Queen. I am ready to face the consequences of my inadequacy."

Elsa rubbed her eyes, trying very hard to rein in her anger. She knew it was not truly aimed at the Commander. He was just the closest person with any sliver of responsibility, however small. No, the real blame lay with the culprits. The Commander was just as angry as she was. Probably more, for he must have known the victims personally.

"What about the prisoner?" She asked. He shook his head.

"The assassin was not willing to be taken alive, He managed to kill himself with a hidden dagger the minute we thawed him. I am sorry, my Queen."

"Were you present?"

"No."

"Then do not apologize." She snapped at him.

Perhaps she should have spared more than one.

The Commander nodded, and Elsa returned to rubbing her temples, eyes closed, trying to think of a single positive angle to this whole disaster.

"What can you tell me?"

"We know the castle's patrol schedules, and based on the time of attack and Pratchet's death on the eastern wall, we have an idea of how they got in and the path they followed."

That was something, at least.

"Make sure that hole is closed, Commander. How did they know to evade all the patrols until my quarters?"

"I do not know, my Queen. Patrol routs are rotated on a weekly basis, they could have been uncommonly lucky or stealthy but it is more likely they bought or stole the schedule from someone in the castle." The Commander seemed to choose his next words carefully "My Queen I must speak plainly, Though it is impossible to say yet, a traitor within these walls is the most likely."

"I do not need to tell you this has been the most successful assassination attempt as of yet, do I?" Elsa snapped, her migraine getting the better of her.

"No, my Queen." The Commander stood to attention"I will do my best to protect you from whatever post you assign me on. If only my resignation will be acceptable, then I will do so immediately."

"You are not demoted, Commander Reesh."

He blinked in confusion, gaping at her for a moment. "I'm ... I'm not?"

"No, you're not. You are good at your job and you are doing your best. But I want you to learn from this. Make sure it doesn't happen again."

The Captain bowed deeply. "As you command, my Queen."

"I want another sweep of the castle. Make sure these vermin aren't hiding anywhere. You will inform the families_. Personally_. And prepare the ceremonies for this evening. Court is cancelled. I know that it is impossible to keep the deaths a secret, but be discreet. The families deserve some peace."

"Immediately, my Queen."

"Dismissed."

The soldiers bowed and proceeded to exit the door. The commander bowed as well, but lingered, hesitation in his posture. Elsa had little patience right now.

"Spit it out, Commander."

"My Queen, may I suggest catching some sleep?"

His concern for her was touching, but currently unwanted.

"There is too much to do. Sleep will have to wait."

"Then, at least some breakfast? You've a long day ahead of you, your majesty."

Elsa was about to say that it was too early for breakfast when she caught sight of the grandfather clock to her right. It was a quarter past eight. With a sudden lurch, she realized that she was absolutely starving.

"Yes, I think I can do with some breakfast. Go, Commander."

The man bowed and left her. She sat heavily in her chair for a few minutes more before rising. She straightened her dress, a simple green one that she'd thrown on before exiting her room, and walked out.

She was immediately surrounded by four overeager guards. She dismissed them, knowing very well that there would be no second attempt so soon, and so deep inside the castle.

Her feet took her to the breakfast room mechanically and she wondered if Anna would be waiting for her or if she'd already eaten and had left.

Opening the door, she was immediately assaulted with the sound of her sister's laughter. Entering the room fully, she saw Anna around the breakfast table. Sitting on the chair next to her was the Viking chief. The Chief had something on his hand, a piece of paper that he was showing to her sister. Their breakfast sat largely ignored in front of them, she couldn't be that late then. As soon as they noticed her, she had the attention of both. The Chief quickly rolled the paper while her sister rose.

Elsa realized that she must look a right sight, dark bags under her eyes, hair unbraided and messy. She found herself caring little, even after the realization.

Anna rushed to her and drew her in a fierce hug.

"Elsa, what happened? I was so worried!" Her sister said. Elsa repressed a grimace at Anna's loud voice next to her ears. It was not helping her migraine.

He didn't say anything, but she could see his eyes roaming her body, checking for injuries.

"I am fine, Anna. Completely unhurt. Release me, please." Her sister did so, flushing in embarrassment. Apparently Anna didn't trust her word, because she, too, looked her over.

Elsa walked around her sister and almost slumped on the chair next to hers. She felt the Viking's gaze on her, but cared little right now. She was too tired, and there much more important things going on than appearing strong in front of a foreigner.

"Good morning, Queen Elsa." He said, tone neutral.

"Hardly good. Three men have died."

The Chief frowned, and her sister gasped. Immediately, Elsa was drawn in another fierce hug, which was awkward and a little precarious, considering they were both seated.

Elsa wanted to push her sister away, such was her irritation. She held herself, however, knowing that that would be an overreaction. After half a minute of the hug and her sister's soft words, she found herself fighting back tears instead of anger, and hugged her sister just as hard.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the Chief shuffling awkwardly in his seat, and realized that he must not be sure if he should leave and let the two sisters be alone.

The last thing she wanted right now was for people to treat her different. She didn't want pity. She didn't die, and she wasn't a family member of the dead. It was _them_ that had it the hardest, and her responsibility issues would take a back-seat.

She released herself from her sister's hug after a last affectionate squeeze, and turned forward, looking down at her plate, and watched the Chief out of the corner of her eye.

It occurred to her that she was being extremely emotional in front of a foreign royal and faction leader, something that she generally tried her hardest to avoid. Perhaps she would even care about that fact, a day or a week from now. Currently, the knowledge simply passed her by without a reaction.

"I'm sorry for my state, Chief Hiccup. The loss of my subjects always hits me hard." There was no helping this confession, and the truth of her words had already become obvious to him even before she had said them aloud.

"I'm sorry to hear that." He told her, and she found only truth in his words. She was uncertain, however, if he was sorry for the loss of the men or her own strong feelings towards it. She wasn't sure she wanted to know, either.

She shook her head. Platitudes had no place, at that moment. She began piling food at her plate, and took another mug of much needed coffee.  
"Your rooms were searched, were they not?" She asked. Both Anna and  
the Chief nodded.

Elsa looked at the Viking. "I apologize for the inconvenience."

He shook his head. "My convenience is of no consequence in light of this."

True, it wasn't, but no one could fault her for being nice.

"I was told you were attacked. Is that true?" The Viking asked.

She nodded. "Yes. Tragically, three guards lost their lives, but the attack was foiled." She did not mention that one escaped. Foreigners could do without that knowledge. And besides, it wouldn't be a great leap of logic for him to make by himself, considering the castle was being searched.

Anna squeezed her shoulder in support, and she spared her sister a grateful, if tired, smile.

"Court will be cancelled today for the funerals." Anna nodded in understanding, and hesitantly turned to her food, stealing worried glances at her every so often. Elsa knew what Anna was afraid of. She couldn't placate her, however, because the younger girl wasn't exactly wrong.

"Were you targeted because of your command of ice magic?" The chief asked neutrally. She didn't turn her head as she replied.

"Perhaps. Or maybe it was a political move. Who knows?"

"Is this a frequent occurrence?"

Anna glared at the Viking in disapproval, and she saw the Chief blink at her sister for two seconds, before his eyes widened and he turned back towards her.

"Apologies. I did not mean to intrude or be insensitive."

"To answer your question," Elsa said, ignoring his backpedaling "every few months I receive at least one attempt on my life. The kidnapping attempts stopped pretty early. All of these are on the public chronicle of the castle."

Of course, there were at least as many instances that never made it to the public archives, but the chief didn't need to know that.

"I'm sorry to hear it."

"Yes, well, it's a risk we have to take." She knew he would understand this much, at least. Judging by the plethora of healed wounds on his body, the chief had seen his fair share of sticky situations.

"I'm sorry about your soldiers, too."

Her fingers clenched around her fork.

"Thank you. They were brave men."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the chief study her face, open his mouth and promptly close it, before turning back to his plate. She was mildly curious as to what he'd been about to say, but not enough so as to ask him about it.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, until they had been mostly sated and were slowing down. She could see Anna cast glances her way as if she wanted to talk to her, before looking at the Chief and shaking her head slightly. Apparently, Anna preferred to mother her in private. Or she had something to say that was only for _her_ ears.

"Chief Hiccup," Elsa said. Said Viking raised his head and looked at her, expectantly.

"Yes?"

"Come by my office around noon. I will lead you to the map room, that you may get an idea of the surrounding geography and orient yourself in regards to Berk."

"Are you sure? You must be very busy today. I can understand waiting a few days longer."

"No," Elsa shook her head. "We've put this off for long enough. Come by my office, and we'll get it out of the way."

"Alright."

Grasping for a distraction that food simply could not provide, Elsa fished around for a new subject.

"I saw you showing something to Anna, earlier. What was it?"

The chief's eyes widened and he pushed the rolled paper deeper into the pocket of his tunic.

"Oh, that. It's nothing, really. Just a sketch."

"Don't be silly, Chief Haddock!" Anna said, looking at him like he'd said chocolate tasted terrible. "You're very good!" She turned to Elsa. "You should see, he made this amazing sketch of the castle. All of it! It's amazing!"

Her sister looked at the chief again, motioning encouragingly with her hand. "Go on, Chief Hiccup, show her."

Elsa wondered briefly when he had become '_Chief Hiccup_' rather than '_Chief Haddock_'. She'd thought that calling him Chief Hiccup was _her_ thing.

Said Viking was currently doing his best impression of a blushing schoolgirl.  
"It's really nothing. Just something to pass the time. I'm really not even that-"

"Show me, please." Elsa interrupted him.

"Well ... alright." He finally relented, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

He retrieved the paper from his pocket and rolled it open, smoothing it for a while before passing it on to her.

It was the unfinished sketch that she'd seen two days ago, on his desk. Only it wasn't unfinished. Previously bland and empty shapes were now filled with detail; previously clear parts of the paper were now full of the missing parts. Towers and walls and buildings. On top of the highest tower, the Arendelle standard with the royal crest waved proudly.

"You're actually very good." She said, impressed despite herself. The Chief sputtered a few soft denials, but she paid him no mind, inspecting the sketch more closely.

She saw a few flaws, the second time around. A few lines drawn a little more than they should, a tower than was a little shorter than it was in reality, a building with one less chimney than it really had. Even a corner that was a little bit smudged.

Despite these, she was very impressed. The Chief was very good at sketching. He probably did it in two sittings, and if what Ernie told her was true, he didn't even take that long to do it.

She turned her attention back to the Chief, across from Anna, but he'd stopped speaking and was staring squarely at his beans, as if they'd eat themselves if stared at hard enough. Elsa guessed that he was trying to keep contained any further embarrassed denials.

"I find myself surprised with everything new we learn about you, Chief Hiccup." She heard herself say. The Viking looked up at her, surprise evident in his eyes if not in his expression. Her sister only had a smile to offer as she continued her train of thought.

"Two days ago we learned that you're a very capable smith, and now a painter?"

"I would hardly call that painting." The chief said, grasping onto the only objection he could find.

"Call it what you will. Your 'sketches' are quite skilful."

"Yes, well, I have very deft fingers." The chief said.

"This sounds like one of those things with a story behind them." Anna said, grinning. The man shrugged.

"It's really not much of a story."

"We'd like to hear it, nonetheless." Elsa said.

"Okay. Well, I guess it has to do with the fact that I'm not really your average Viking."

Anna frowned in confusion. "Of course, not, you are the Chief."

"That's not what I mean."

"You ride a dragon." Elsa ventured.

"That's not it, either." The chief shook his head. "It has more to do with my body type."

"Your ... body type?" Elsa said, unable to stop herself. Anna looked at her and her face broke into a wide grin, her eyebrows wiggling suggestively.

Elsa blushed scarlet for a single mortifying second, before snapping out of it and glaring at her sister. She did _not_ mean it like that!

The chief went on, blessedly oblivious to her inner struggle. Or at least, she hoped he was oblivious and not simply being merciful.

"Yes. You see, the average Viking is much ... well, _bigger_, than me. Remember the Captain of the contingent that brought us here?" At Elsa's nod, he continued. "Well, my people are in average about twice _his_ size, never mind mine. That's not a problem right now, of course. I can hold my own against any of them, but this wasn't always the case. When I was younger , before I developed such things as _balance_ or hand-eye coordination or my own way of fighting, I was looked upon as quite useless for Viking society."

Elsa and Anna looked him in confusion. The future chief of the tribe was looked upon as useless?

The Chief noticed their disbelieving stares and raised an eyebrow.

"What? It was true. I couldn't fight to save my life. My attempts to help with anything war-related usually ended in disaster. Not to mention that I was the clumsiest person you'd have ever met, with two left feet."

A small grin played on his features. "Well, things changed since then. I don't have any left feet anymore, for one."

The sheer fact that he was joking about his crippling injury was too much for Anna and she broke into a fit of giggles, drawing a satisfied smile from the Chief.

Elsa was not as entertained. What kind of person does it take, to function perfectly with such a debilitating handicap and even use it as joke fodder? Could _she_ have done that, in his place? She'd never thought particularly hard about injuries, never mind dismemberments. It was something that she factually knew could occur, but never mentally associated with herself. The thought chilled her.

"Anyway," the chief continued "at the time all I had going for me was the dexterity of my hands. My father assigned me as the blacksmith's apprentice, and I guess things spiraled from there. I knew all I had was an overactive imagination and capable hands, so I learned anything I could that included these two. I became a blacksmith, I learned to sketch, I learned to write, I learned to handle wood and leather, I learned how to cook. By the time I was fifteen, I was quite the handy person to have around, though I still wouldn't fight."

"You can cook?" Anna blurted out.

"Sure," the chief nodded "but nowhere near this kind of quality, you understand." He said, gesturing at the breakfast table that had been untouched for the last few minutes.

"When did it all change?" Elsa asked. "When did you become proficient in combat?" She never for a second doubted his current proficiency. He moved like her best fighters moved, smooth and controlled despite his leg. His weapons were well worn but perfectly maintained and were never far from his side. Thankfully, his time inside the castle was an exception to this.

"It all started with Toothless, really."

"How so?"

"Well, Toothless is very strong. There aren't many things that are a threat to him. And I felt ... inadequate, I suppose. I wanted to protect him as he protected me, and so I eventually learned. I started with the bow."

Elsa's vision was suddenly filled with the frozen tip of an arrow, and she was waving her hands, trying desperately to alter the path of another before it pierced her-

"Elsa?" Her sister's voice snapped her out of her funk, and she shook her head to clear her memories, noticing the worried looks on both of them.  
"Sorry, I spaced out. Do go on."

"Eh, I probably shouldn't. That's about it, anyway."

Elsa noticed the time on the clock on the opposite wall.

"I have to go. Thank you both for the company, but there are a lot of matters that require my attention."

She rose, and the other two followed her example. Outside the room, her sister once again hugged her, promising to see her later, before walking away with a wave.

"I'll bring Kristoff by to meet you, chief Hiccup!" She called as she left. Apparently Anna must have told the chief a bit about herself before she came in.

"I'm looking forward to it, Princess Anna." The chief called back, before turning to her.

"I'll be in your office at noon." He said, and she nodded. Then he, too, turned and left.

Elsa rubbed her eyes again. Thankfully her headache had abated, but the day was just starting. There was a lot to be done.

**~E~**

True to her predictions, the castle was abuzz with activity. A hornet's nest had been stirred, and now guards were everywhere, rushing around the castle like they were actually doing something. Servants were traveling in groups, glancing fearfully around corners.

For hours, Elsa walked to every section of the castle, assuring the staff and everyone else there that yes, she was fine; no, there would be no other attack as they had caught the culprits and yes; they could trust her when she said that everything was fine.

The castle was in a state between panic and war preparations, which Elsa did her best to calm before things got out of hand.

It hadn't been the first attempt on her life. But it had been by far the most successful. Never before had the castle been breached to this extent. The closest anyone else had gotten inside the castle was the Courtyard.

Usually, attempts on her life happened when she was outside, where a lone assassin would try his luck by springing from shadows and corners, or a shooter would try to snipe her from a rooftop or tree. Always failure, almost always without victims other than the attacker himself.

But this time, the castle security had been completely compromised, and three loyal men lay dead. There would be hell to pay for this. Elsa intended to see to that. She smelled a rat, and she would not rest until it was found. Nevertheless, the wider investigation had to be kept discreet, else the traitorous vermin apparently infecting her palace would spook and bolt back to whatever country was financing this latest attempt.

She found herself in her office, getting updated in the guards' progress, or lack thereof, in locating the last attacker. A peasant from the edge of town had reported a stolen horse, and it was believed that the invader had made good his escape. Elsa fumed throughout the meeting, until she at last dismissed the men giving the report, before she did something she'd later regret.

Being Queen was much harder than their parents had made it seem.

"My Queen?" A beautiful older woman slipped around her door. Her long black hair was loose this time, and her dark blue dress covered everything from her shoulders to her feet.

She had completely missed the knock on her door. She was slipping.

Elsa blinked harshly, chasing the fatigue out of her eyes.

"Yes, Marina?"

Officially Elai Marina was the Head Courtier and a member of Elsa's inner council. She oversaw the court, including planning the official functions, balls and other events. Unofficially, she was also a high ranking member of the kingdom's intelligence gathering force and the third most powerful woman in Arendelle.

Her long black hair was let loose this time, and her dark blue dress covered everything from her shoulders to her feet.

"My Queen, how are you?"

_Not this again. _

Elsa attempted to be patient. "I'm fine, thank you. Just a little tired. Can I help you?"

Marina seemed to hesitate, but nevertheless stepped closer to Elsa's desk before speaking.

"Lord Doublay has arrived, my Queen. He is already asking for you."

Elsa rubbed her eyes. Just what she needed right now. He _had_ to pick the worst time possible.

"Did you inform him on the matters of Court?"

"I did, my Queen. He requested a private audience."

"Whatever for, did he mention?" They both knew the answer, but Elsa's irritation could hardly be kept in check.

"He did not. However-"

"Can you just tell him that I do not want to, nor will I ever, marry his son? Then we can save ourselves time and a headache, mmm?"

Marina frowned. Elsa inwardly sighed, maybe she was being unfair.

"My Queen, Lord Doublay is an important-"

"I know!" Elsa snapped, earlier thoughts forgotten. Marina dutifully closed her mouth, prompting Elsa to continue. "I know all about Doublay's position in Megara's government. I am well aware of his son's interest in me. I am also well informed on the potential benefits of a direct union between Arendelle and Megara, our second greatest trade supplier in the mainland. None of this changes the fact that _I will not marry his son_."

By the end of her tirade, Elsa was almost shouting. Marina did not say anything, and Elsa suddenly realized that she was breathing hard. She closed her eyes and did her best to calm down. She took deep, slow breaths.

After a minute, the Head Courtier spoke.

"My Queen?"

"I'm good now, Elai. I'm sorry for my outburst." Marina gave her a soft smile that did not reach her eyes. "Make the arrangements for the meeting with Doublay. I will give him the diplomatic version of what I just told you."

"It will be done, my Queen."

Seeing that Marina had still more to say, Elsa nodded her head, prompting the slightly older woman to speak.

"Your Majesty, I know that now is not the time, especially after this morning But you must know eventually you will have to start considering marriage offers, if not to pacify the population the at least to establish a line of-"

"There is no need for a line of succession." Elsa cut her off. "Anna is my heir, and she is well on her way to making plenty of heirs of her own, if palace gossip is to be believed."

Marina's carefully neutral expression said it all. Elsa was well aware that not everyone was as accepting of Anna's relationship with Kristoff as she was. Anna, in one of her brilliant idea moments, had decided to wait a few years before getting married, to Kristoff or anyone else. While understandable after her experience with Hans, the scumbag Prince from the Southern Isles, it lead to a lot of rumours circulating about her.

"The Princess' relationship with our Ice Master aside, having your sister as your heir is only a temporary measure. The people need to see the royal line continue from parent to child, not between siblings. The longer you remain unmarried, the more will you be spoken about in unfavourable terms."

"Let them talk." Elsa said. "They will get used to it eventually."

Marina's frown threatened to split her face, and Elsa raised a hand to stop her when the Head Courtier opened her mouth to say something.

"Listen, Marina. I understand what you're saying. We've had this discussion before. My answer remains the same. I have given and will continue to give all of myself to the kingdom of Arendelle. I keep only one thing for myself. My ability to love and marry whoever I want. That is the only line that I will not cross, not while I have a choice in the matter. I will do everything in my power to help my kingdom, but if and when I get married, it will be to someone _I_ choose, for selfish reasons. It is the only thing I will do for Elsa Ellesmyre, rather than Arendelle."

Elai regarded her for a minute, head cocked slightly to the side.

"Your mother-"

"My _mother_," Elsa interrupted her again, anger blistering. "Was very, _very_ fortunate to have been chosen by my father, who was a good man, and eventually grew to love him. She was the exception, rather than the rule. Regardless, I am not my mother. I loved and admired her, but I will follow my own path in life."

At this, Marina could do nothing but bow.

"As you say, Queen Elsa."

Elsa's expression softened and she brought her hand to rub at her temples. She was really snappish today. Understandable, but inexcusable. Queens can scarcely afford to get snippy.

"I'm sorry, Marina, but this is my decision. It will not change."

"I understand, my Queen. Though I disagree with you, I admire your conviction, nonetheless."

Elsa nodded "Thank you. It means a lot to me."

"I will go make the arrangements, then."

"Very well. I have to arrange the funeral soon, in any case."

Dismissed, Marina curtsied, though she hesitated a moment "One last thing, before I go?"

"Go ahead."

"I saw the dragon on my way here."

Marina seemed slightly troubled, which was interesting. Elsa leaned forward on the desk, resting her chin on her interconnected fingers.

"Oh? Did something happen?"

"No, my Queen. I was passing through the Gardens when I saw the dragon and King Haddock."

"Chief."

"Beg your pardon?"

"As I mentioned at court, the correct term is chief, not king."

"Apologies. Yes, Chief Haddock and the dragon were at the gardens."

Elsa failed to see what was troubling about this.

"Doing what?"

"The chief was drawing something in a notebook. They both just lay in the grass. The dragon was sprawled on its back and the chief was resting his back against it."

"This is all very interesting, but is there a point to it?"

"I'm not sure. He saw me and he waved cordially, and I returned the gesture."

"Elai, do you have a point?"

"I guess it seemed strange to find a royal in such casual stance."

"It is not our place to question how foreign royals conduct themselves, so long as they do not go against our laws and rules while within our borders.

"I'm sorry, my Queen. I'm just rambling. With your permission, I will go now."

Elsa nodded. Marina bowed once again and left the room. Elsa recognized the look of half-formed suspicions and ideas, but she couldn't do anything about it before Marina herself made sense of them.

She was hardly alone for five minutes before there was a knock on her door again.

"Enter."

The guard outside opened the door, announcing the visitor. "The Commander General Mertok."

"My Queen." Mertok said, bowing deeply as he entered the room and the door was closed.

"General. Good morning."

"It is hardly morning, my Queen. Noon is almost upon us."

"Is it?" Elsa asked, surprised. She glanced at the clock at the wall. Indeed, it was almost twelve. "Ah, so it is. I must have lost track of time."

She turned her gaze back towards the older man.

"I assume you have been briefed on the situation?"

"Yes. It is most worrying."

"That it is, General. What do you make of it?"

"Where to begin? The loss of life is a tragedy, but equally important is finding out how the perpetrators got so far inside. They completely bypassed the outer defences."

"Do you have a theory?"

"Speculation only, my Queen."

"Indulge me, General."

His brow furrowed, his eyes narrowing in thought and he rubbed his short beard with his right hand.

"As I said before, I cannot explain it in any way other than that they somehow knew our patrol schedules and guard choke points."

"A traitor, then?"

"It is the most likely explanation, yes."

"Perhaps they were experts in infiltration?" She asked, not really believing it, herself.

"Maybe so but even if such were the case, knowing patrol schedules is one of the most important aspects of a successful infiltration."

"We must assume we have a traitor within the castle, then" Elsa said heavily.

Mertok nodded.

"Can you compile a list of possible suspects, General?"

"That would be harder than it seems, my Queen."

Elsa frowned.

"How so?"

"The people who have complete access to the patrol plans are people we'd normally consider above suspicion, such as guard commander Reesh, the members of the inner council, you and your sister."

"I see."

"And the number of people who could have figured out the patrols through snooping and observation are too high to realistically investigate. That list includes all servants, all currents guests at the castle, and all guards stationed here."

"Surely these people could not have learned the schedules of our patrols so deep inside the castle and in such detail."

"Probably not, my Queen, but it is not impossible. And so long as there is a chance, however slight, we cannot discount the possibility."

"What can we do?"

"There is little we _can_ do, short of emptying the castle and closing the gates."

"Which will never happen under my rule."

Mertok tipped his head at this.

"As you say, so we can't do that. All we can realistically do, besides quietly investigate further is tighten security. We figure out exactly how they breached the castle, close the hole, and try to learn who had the exact knowledge necessary to make such an infiltration possible."

Elsa nodded.

"I will leave these matters to you, then, General."

"As you command, my Queen. If I may?"

"Go ahead."

"I am not exactly suggesting anything, but I need to inform you that the chances of Chief Haddock's arrival a scant few days before the nearly successful attempt on your life being coincidental are very slim."

Elsa frowned.

"What are you saying, general? That Chief Haddock was somehow involved?"

"I am saying that there is a good possibility."

She shook her head.

"Chief Haddock has been under constant surveillance when outside of his quarters. I have seen to that."

"That is true. It certainly lowers the chances of it being him that figured out the patrol schedules, but does not clear him of suspicion."

"Suspicion?" Elsa asked slowly, drawing the word out. The General nodded.

"Chief Haddock seems earnest, but we must not let that cloud our judgement. Prince Hans seemed earnest, too, and we were all played by him."

"Chief Haddock is _not_ Hans."

"Of course not, my Queen. But, similarly, Prince Hans is not the only person that would do such a thing."

"Tell me your thoughts and tarry no longer, General."

"What do we know of him, truly? His appearance was very convenient, was it not?"

"Need I remind you, General, that it was _us _who found him, rather than the other way around?"

"And how can we be certain of that? He was found right on top of your path. By his own words, his homeland is very far away. He could have been waiting. What are the chances that it was truly a chance encounter?"

This gave Elsa pause. The general, despite it being in his job description to be paranoid, had a point. It truly was bizarre, how they met like this.

"What you say is not exactly wrong, General, but Chief Haddock has already had the chance to kill me and didn't. I have told you this before."

"I do not presume to have the entire case solved, my Queen. Perhaps killing you was not his intention, initially. Perhaps he had nothing to do with the attack and I'm just being suspicious for no reason, or maybe he has his own plans separate of the attack yesterday. It could be a number of things."

"Which brings us back to square one."

"Perhaps, but I would like you to remain alert around him. Are we even certain he is who he claims?"

Elsa again paused, deep in thought. The General's fears echoed many of her own.

"No, we are not. His word and his presumed honour are the only things we go by."

"A dangerous thing to do."

"Admittedly so, but after he spared my life I was willing to believe his word that he was the sovereign of a distant land."

"Distant enough to be nearly impossible to confirm in time?"

"So it would seem."

"There is also the fact of his age."

"What about it?"

"Faction leaders so young are rare. Yes, I am aware of your situation, but it is an exception rather than a rule."

"He related the stories of the deaths of his parents to me and Anna, earlier this morning."

"_Of course_ he did." His sarcasm was not lost on Elsa.

Mertok paused, his stance sagging a little.

"I am grateful to Chief Haddock for sparing my Queen's life, but it is my job to be worried about and consider such things."

"I understand, General. You are not being illogical in your fears. Nevertheless, I feel that Chief Haddock is telling the truth, regarding his chieftainship if nothing else."

"Because of the dragon? His taming of the beast is impressive, but not necessarily proof of his word."

Elsa shook her head. "It's not that. I have seen no concrete proof of this but ... I'm not sure how to explain it. I can _feel_ it. The air of command around him, the ease of someone used to being listened to, used to giving out orders…" She trailed off suddenly, realising how flimsy her argument sounded.

"Perhaps he is confident by nature, or a lord used to ordering about servants, or simply presenting a very skillful act."

Elsa nodded "That is, of course, a possibility, but this kind of speculation can only take us around in circles. There is no way to confirm this short of going to Berk ourselves, and even then we'd have to rely on Chief Haddock's direction to go there and assume he's being truthful."

"Then how can you be certain?"

"I cannot, General. It is possible that he is not the chief of a distant land, rather only a boy who managed to tame a dragon. After all, it is easy to add chiefdom when people are trying to process your pet dragon. Do not think I have not considered the possibility; however I feel he is telling the truth and I will not risk possibly offending a dragon riding Viking Chief on the off chance that he is not."

The general threw her a dubious look.

"Surely it can't be only that?"

Elsa sighed. "Of course not. The thing is; if he is faking it, then he's doing a _terrible _job of it. Don't you think that someone trying to pass as a royal would act more like we'd expect a royal to, rather than Chief Haddock's general behavior?"

"All in the name of posing as someone from far away."

"His behavior and your theory don't match, general. There is no basis for suspicion besides the default on anyone we don't personally know. And let us not forget that the sole reason I brought him here was to avoid an international incident. What would happen if we were to suddenly distrust him, maybe even throw him out, and it turns out that he wasn't lying? We'll be the laughing stock of _nations_, not to mention the possibility of war with the vikings. Remember that our goal is to get on his good side, not his bad one."

"I don't know, my Queen. This whole situation seems very suspicious to me. And your reasoning hasn't exactly assuaged me."

"As I said, it is nothing concrete. I just feel that this is our best course of action for the time being, and that I could not be duped on this matter."

"It takes one to know one, does it?"

"Something like that. I am fairly certain that his status as chieftain is legitimate."

"Then I will trust your judgement, in this as in all things."

"Thank you, General. Know that I am keeping a close eye on Chief Hiccup."

Mertok's expression changed slightly, but it was gone before Elsa had time to decipher its meaning.

They were quiet for some time, thinking over everything they had said.

"Permission to speak freely, my Queen."

"Granted."

"You look terrible, Elsa."

Elsa blinked. Once, twice. Then she burst into laughter. The general himself smiled at her, and she was acutely reminded that this was the man who had sat her on his knee and told her stories when she was still a tiny little girl full of curiosity and wonder, running around at her father's meetings and making a nuisance of herself.

"Thank you, Shad. A girl always wants to hear such compliments."

"You should get some rest, is all I'm saying."

"I'll take that into consideration."

The man sighed "Meaning you won't do it."

Elsa smiled at this. He knew her well.

"Probably not, but thank you for your concern."

"If that will be all, I'll be taking my leave."

"Go ahead. Will you be attending the funeral?"

"Yes, my Queen."

The general bowed, then turned on his heel and marched for the door. Elsa followed him with her eyes, a fond smile still on her face. As soon as the door opened, the smile vanished.

There, outside the door, stood the aforementioned Viking chief in the flesh. She was not worried about him overhearing anything, thankfully, since her office was perfectly insulated.

Mertok noticed the Chief outside and stilled for a moment, but then bowed his head, greeted the man, and went on his way.

"His majesty, Chief Haddock" the guard announced, and the chief stepped right into her office.

"Queen Elsa, Greetings." He said. Elsa glanced at her clock, noticing that it was a quarter past twelve. She'd stood him up.

"And to you, Chief Hiccup."

She noticed his eyes take in her appearance critically, and no doubt he noticed the bags under her eyes or the messy way her hair was braided, or her rumpled ress, or the two empty cups of coffee on her desk. When he spoke, she was irrationally thankful that for once today, it wasn't a query regarding her state of health.

"You asked to see me?" He said, making no mention of being made to wait for a quarter of an hour.

"Yes. As I mentioned, it is high time we understood where exactly we stand in relation to each other."

The chief's mouth opened once, twice, but he seemed at a loss. The third time, he found his voice.

"I'm sorry?" he said carefully.

"I meant Berk and Arendelle." She clarified.

"Oh. Yes, you said as much during breakfast. Silly me, I forgot." He rubbed the back of his head, obviously embarrassed about something. Elsa didn't ponder on it much.

She rose and walked around her desk.

"Follow me." She said, and headed for the smaller door at the right wall of her office. The young man followed her without complaint or questions.

Through the door was another office, though this one smaller, more cramped with stuff. A wide table in the middle was full of charts, maps and books. The various furniture lining the walls were equally full of similar things.

"I have already prepared several maps of the Viking areas, as we know them, and the spaces in between." Elsa said, making space at the table and leaving only the relevant maps on it.

"This is Arendelle." She said, pointing at a specific map which depicted her kingdom in its entirety.

Chief Hiccup approached the table and her, staring at the maps in concentration. She let him study them for a few minutes. He worked methodically, first with the map of Arendelle, then their map of the Viking provinces.

"It's more or less correct, but much too crude." he murmured, studying the map of the northern areas carefully.

"Would you be willing to help make them more accurate? I've witnessed your ability with a quill or pencil."

This was perhaps a risky move on her part, because there was no immediate gain for him if he gave her a clearer idea of his lands, while there was a lot of new information in it for her. Nevertheless, she saw it as a fair deal, and was fairly certain that he would, too.

"Not a problem. I'll get on it tomorrow or sometime soon. I'll have to take this with me though, and a couple of empty pieces for copies."

"You will be given everything that you require."

He worked in silence again, aligning maps and comparing them to each other. Elsa watched his face, brow creased in concentration, eyes squinted. His tongue peeked out to wet his lips.

She averted her gaze after that.

"I think I've got it." He declared after half an hour of study. Elsa moved closer, to see what he'd done with the maps. Arendelle was the one closest to them, and he'd arranged the maps between her kingdom and Berk in order.

"Look at the Viking areas." He instructed, and she complied.

"What am I looking for?"

"Something that doesn't exist. See, here? On the north most part of this map, all that is drawn are some rock protrusions, probably from hearsay. This area is where my islands are, and many more besides. There's a whole archipelago that's missing from this map. Many Viking tribes live there, including mine. Your map is grossly inaccurate."

He paused, before averting his gaze from the map to look at her. From the seriousness of his expression, Elsa guessed that this was an important moment.

"I'll make you a proper map of the archipelago. Alright?"

Now she understood. Yes, he was offering much. But then again, she'd offered the same when she showed him perfect maps of Arendelle and the surrounding geography, hadn't she? But _she _had promised, and had made no clause as to receiving the same treatment from him. It wasn't the same thing.

"Thank you. That would be most helpful."

The Chief frowned. "Would it?"

_Oops, that came out wrong._

"Perhaps. We will speak of this in more detail in the comings days. I think an agreement between our people is not outside the realm of possibility."

"What do you have in mind, Queen Elsa?"

She shook her head. "Not now. We will talk of this more later."

He still seemed suspicious, but he let it go. Was he being nice and not insisting? Or was it something else?

_What's going on in your head, Hiccup?_

They moved away from the map room and back into her office. The chief seemed unsure of what to do for a moment, but Elsa went to her chair and sat.

"Please, take a seat." She asked, and he obliged, taking the one directly in front of her desk.

He looked at her, inviting her to begin conversation.

"How have you been finding your stay here so far?" His eyebrow rose marginally at her opener, but he didn't comment on it.

"It is more than I'd imagined it would be. In the good sense, I assure you. I've met many interesting people, and I've yet to see the whole castle; which is fascinating, by the way. I have no complaints."

"Not even after last night's intrusion?" He frowned at this.

"I hardly feel the need to complain when you yourself suffered a much more irritating intrusion."

_Irritating_ was one way to put it.

"So we said in the morning, yes."

"Can I ask you for something, Queen Elsa?"

Elsa shuffled a little, sitting straighter in her seat.

"If it is within my power to grant."

"I would like your permission to take Toothless to the sky."

"You mean ... fly?" He nodded.

"Yes. We've been grounded for long enough, I think. He'll soon start getting irritable."

She hesitated, thinking furiously, he must have noticed something in her expression, because he spoke again.

"If you're thinking that I'll fly off, don't. I have no reason to do that, plus I will leave all my stuff and my weapons here if it would put your mind at ease."

She coughed. "I wasn't thinking that at all."

The Chief's knowing smile almost made her snap at him, but she swallowed that urge and decided to move on before she embarrassed herself any further.

"It sounds reasonable. When were you thinking?"

"I was thinking of today, but that's obviously not possible. I'm sure that with the funeral coming up you don't want to deal with your subjects being terrified by a flying dragon."

"An exaggeration, perhaps, but true. I would appreciate it if you waited until tomorrow. I would also like to be present."

He raised his eyebrow again, surprised.

"You want to come with us?"

Elsa was visibly taken aback by this. _What_?

"What do you mean?"

"I mean fly. With us. Is that what you want?"

"No, most definitely not." She shook her head. No, getting on that ... on _Toothless_ and flying was the furthest thing from her mind right now. She saw the Chief's frown, but nothing she could say would wipe it off.

"It would do you good, you know. It's a great experience."

She looked at him oddly, for a moment forgetting that he was foreign royalty.

"It's crazy."

The chief smiled at this. _Smiled!_ More proof for her. It _was_ crazy, and _he_ was crazy.

"Perhaps. A little crazy in our lives makes things interesting. When was the last time you did something crazy?"

"I prefer to avoid crazy things that could get me killed, thank you very much."

He frowned a little.

"I said crazy, Queen Elsa, not dumb. There's a difference."

"I fail to see it, in this instance."

"Yes, you do." He said, and Elsa bristled. Now he was mocking her, _again_.

"Would it be impossible for something to go wrong and for you to fall to your death?"

He waited for a few seconds, weighing his response. He must have known that the question was unfairly posed, but he replied nonetheless.

"No, it is not impossible."

"Then I'd rather not do something so risky if there isn't a perfectly valid reason."

He shook his head. "Fair enough. So if you didn't mean that, what did you mean when you mentioned being present?"

"Before you fly, take-off, whatever you call it. It's best if I'm there, so as to assuage anyone watching."

"Sounds reasonable."

"When, exactly?"

"Either a few hours before or after lunch. We can figure out an exact time at breakfast."

"That is acceptable." She waited a few second to ascertain the matter was closed before continuing. "Will you be attending the funeral tonight?"

He sobered up immediately, like she did.

"If I am allowed to."

"Everyone is invited. Ernie will take you to the chapel. If he doesn't, just follow the people."

"I assume that Toothless should not come?"

"It'd be best if he didn't. It would complicate things unnecessarily, and we don't want any hitches with the ceremony."

He nodded. "Yes, I agree. Toothless will stay here."

Elsa took a deep breath, thinking of the best possible way to broach the next subject. Their interaction so far had been telling, but it was time for the finishing touch. This was a risk, but it was one she thought she had to take, if only to confirm what she already felt she knew.

"There is ... another matter that we need to discuss."

"Oh?"

She hesitated for a few seconds, trying to come up with the right words.

"I implore you not to take offense at what I will say."

She could see that she sparked his curiosity. "Speak freely, Queen Elsa."

"I have received word, from several people, that I should be wary of you." She said at last, and watched him. His face didn't outwardly change, which indicated to her that he expected to hear more. "That you may not be to be trusted. That it is possible that you've been lying about Berk and your status."

The changes were minutiae, but Elsa spotted the signs of anger as soon as they appeared. "Are you calling me a liar, Queen Elsa?" His tone was level, but grave, as if in warning. Elsa felt the danger tangible in the air, as if she was walking on thin ice.

"Of course not," Elsa said carefully. "However, it has been said to me, and I can't exactly disagree, that we have no reason to believe you other than your word."

"Who said that?"

"It doesn't matter." She leveled a stern look his way. Angry or not, he wasn't changing the subject. "The point is that I've invited you here and treated you as an equal, based on the premise that you are chief of your tribe, as you claimed."

"Which I am." He pointed out.

"So you say, and I believe you," she hastily added after his expression darkened even more "but that may not always be enough. I was attacked in my own bed two days after you arrived, suspicion is natural in such circumstances. It may be unfair but it is not unwarranted."

She did not blink, watching his reaction intently. He seemed frustrated, but did a good job of holding most of it from showing.

"I understand that Queen Elsa, but what do you want from me? We don't have stamps in Berk, or signet rings. Short of taking you to Berk I can present you with no convincing proof. Why tell me this now?"

"I felt that you should know."

He no longer kept his irritation from his face, almost-but-not-quite scowling.

"_You_ invited me here. If you feel that I no longer meet the criteria for being a guest, or that I have lied to you, I shall saddle Toothless and leave immediately."

"Goodness, no. That's not it at all." She raised her hand to stop him from saying something in anger. "Please, listen to me. I didn't mean to offend. I believe you; else I would not have brought you here in the first place."

This seemed to mollify him somewhat, and his scowl disappeared.

"Then, what is it? Why tell me?"

"Because it is something that you should be aware of. You have many eyes on you, chief Hiccup. Whether you wanted to come here or not, you represent Berk now."

He closed his eyes, rubbing them with his thumb and finger.

"You're right." He said eventually. "And I'm glad you let me know. I'm not sure if I can do anything to prove my identity to you. Anything that I could say without compromising my people could be known by anyone who's lived there, such as Berk's place on the map, and that doesn't necessarily prove my chieftainship. I am aware that the difference between us and Arendelle is great enough that when people see me and compare me to their own sovereigns, the behaviors don't match. But I don't know what I can do to fix that. I won't start acting like someone else just because someone in your council told you that they don't like me."

"Nor would I ask you to. The concerns will pass with time. I tell you this so you can keep an eye out." _While _I _keep an eye on _you. "And in any case, if what I have in mind comes to pass, then any and all doubts will be gone."

He raised a questioning eyebrow. "Is this the secret idea that I'm not allowed to know about?"

"It's not that you're not _allowed_, exactly. It's just that I'm still forming it inside my own head. As soon as it takes shape, you'll be the first to know."

He nodded curtly. "Sounds fair enough to me, Queen Elsa. Was there anything else? Are we done?"

She shook her head. "No, unless you have something to add?"

He shook his head "I think I've taken up enough of your time. I don't want to be one of those people who hold you up like they think it's your job to entertain them all day."

He joked, but the humor didn't reach his eyes. No doubt, their conversation had troubled him.

Elsa couldn't keep herself from smiling at this, nonetheless. She could relate to that.

"We wouldn't want that, would we?"

Her smile was mirrored on the Chief Hiccup's scarred face.

"No, not at all."

With this, he rose from his seat, as did Elsa. They both tipped their head at each other, and then the Chief turned and marched to the door.

He spared one last look at her, and then left, the door closing behind him with a dull thud.

Elsa melted back into her chair, letting out a long breath.

It was risky, but she had done it and it had worked. It almost backfired on her several times, but she was sure now. There was no doubt in her mind, after the conversation they'd just had.

No matter what else he was, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third was the chief of the Vikings of Berk.

**~E~**


	7. Chapter 7

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**~H~**

**~H~**

**A Chance Encounter, Chapter 7**

**~H~**

**~H~**

As is often the case during funerals, it was raining.

Hiccup wrapped his coat closer to his body, not minding the pouring rain. All around him, the officials of Arendelle were using portable, waterproof canopies to protect themselves from the water. Though Hiccup did not have one, he had also refused one when he was offered by a servant. He'd always felt that it was bad form to avoid the rain during funerals. That said, he'd be coming back to take one of these contraptions and see what made them tick. Later.

Ernie had led him to the chapel after Hiccup had changed into the clothes left for him by the servants. A mostly black tunic with silver trimmings and elaborate shapes in a very dark shade of blue. When it became apparent that the weather was turning bad, he was also given a finely crafted fur coat. Though Hiccup was more used to fur than the fabrics Arendelle used, this fur coat was much different than the ones back in Berk. Much more carefully made, less bulky. Made for appearance rather than stopping the cold from seeping into one's bones. Nevertheless, it did its job to a satisfying degree.

The chapel was crowded with people. At its far end was the Queen, dressed in a regal black dress and with the circlet of her station on her head. She stood next to a priest, and to the side stood the council members and three other people Hiccup did not recognize. He was led by Ernie to that side, and he stood next to those three. He was given respectful nods by the three men, each dressed in a different style, which he returned. He guessed that they were foreign dignitaries, like himself, and were stationed here due to their position.

The rest of the chapel was full of row upon row of townsfolk and guardsmen. Between the seats and the officials were three coffins, beautifully decorated with flowers and lit candles. On the front row sat what could only be the families of the fallen, dressed in borrowed black, their faces pale and drawn.

Hiccup did not believe in the God that Arendelle believed in, but he stayed silent and respectful throughout the ceremony. The priest spoke, a strange cross between a speech and a song in a language that he did not understand. Despite himself, Hiccup found his mind drifting away when the ceremony didn't seem to end anytime soon.

He was pulled from his reverie as the priest concluded his blessings. One by one members of the Queensguard that had been silently lining the walls stepped coffinside and shouldered their fallen comrades. Hiccup wondered whether this duty was an honour or a punishment as he followed the procession outside. Three graves were already dug in front of three shiny new marble headstones. Soldiers in ceremonial armor formed two lines for the procession of coffins and people to pass through, swords raised.

The coffins were balanced on wooden beams above their respective graves, at which time the priest stood behind the headstone and spoke some more. A gold-covered book in his hand, his free one moved erratically, forming shapes and gestures Hiccup had never seen before.

Eventually, the coffins were raised, the beams removed, and then the dead were slowly allowed into their graves. The crying from all around intensified. Despite the fact that he had never even seen these three, never mind knowing them, Hiccup found himself drawn by the atmosphere into a decidedly terrible mood.

With the coffins deposited gently on the earth, the people approached, each with a handful of soil. A procession formed, each saying a few soft words as they dropped the soil onto the coffins until they were almost covered. Queen Elsa approached last, going to each grave, taking some dirt in her hand and throwing it in, but not saying a word.

Once she had done this for all three, men with shovels appeared and filled the rest of the looked on morosely at the three uneven mounds of dirt. The graves were completed when marble surfaces were gently allowed to close their upper part, the walls already placed earlier. On the surface of each grave were inscribed the names, ranks and years of life for each of the the reward given to men who died for their country, for their Queen. A grand funeral yes, but ultimately, three forgotten graves.

When all this was done, the Queen stood in front of the graves, and not a soul let out a sound besides the occasional sniff or hiccup.

"I owe my life to these three." She eventually said. She spoke softly, but her voice carried easily to the whole graveyard. "If it were not for their sacrifice, I would be gone from this world. For this, they will have my eternal gratitude."

She paused, her head slowly resting to each grave, in turn.

"They were examples of what a Royal Guard should do and be. Even surprised and ambushed, they managed to take as many enemies with them and cause enough commotion to wake me up and bring more guards to the scene. The attack that caused their deaths was foiled and the mastermind behind it is being investigated. Soon, he will be brought to justice. The sacrifice of these brave men will not be in vain."

Her voice actually broke. It was only for a split second before she stopped speaking but Hiccup was standing almost right next to her and caught it. His heart went out to her. He knew how hard it was to send away people who died for you.

Oh yes, he knew.

Soon, the Queen had collected herself enough to continue. "They were the best of guards, soldiers, and people of Arendelle. Their example has much to teach all of us. I will never forget them."

She took a step back and raised her hands. Her eyes closed in concentration. Slowly, frost creeped out of her palms and floated towards the marble graves. It gathered on top of each, just below the inscriptions. It slowly piled and condensed. Within a minute, every grave had a perfect ice statue on top of it, each about half a meter tall. They depicted what Hiccup could only assume were their respective dead, standing tall and proud, clad in their armor and with their swords in hand. The flawless ice was a deep blue intertwined with white, and practically shone. Suddenly Hiccup felt a warm burst of admiration for Elsa. These men had died for her and she ensured that they would not be forgotten by anyone else, either. It was a beautiful sight.

It was at this point that it'd began to rain, and everyone produced these weird personal canopies.

The people began to sing and it was beautiful; though again Hiccup did not know the words. Hiccup's eyes examined the ice statues. They were so lifelike, even their face were perfectly detailed.

Finally the ceremony seemed to end, and the people began moving away from the graveyard and the chapel.

Hiccup went with the rest of the officials, not sure what went next. His confusion must have shown on his face, because one of three men took pity on him and explained that it was customary that after the funeral itself, the people attended a sort of feast, in celebration of the life the departed had led.

Hiccup could understand that, and he thanked the man, noting that he hadn't caught his name yet. The brown haired man, who Hiccup didn't think could be much older than he was, introduced himself as a prince from the nearby kingdom of Corona. After their introduction, they didn't speak much, because everyone went into the castle and started heading towards the Ballroom.

Hiccup was embarrassed to note that he'd already forgotten the prince's weird name, besides the fact that the first sound was a 'U'.

He hadn't see Ernie yet, so he assumed he wouldn't for the rest of the night.

The ballroom was a far cry from the last time he'd seen it, empty and dark. Now, it shone with the light of a thousand candles, and filled to the brim with round tables that took up most of the space. All the officials were seated on the table on the center, around which the other tables left a wide berth. Closest to the Queen's table were the families, followed by the nobles, and then the rest of the attendees. Servants came and went, delivering delicious food and drinks. At one end of the cavernous room, a group of musicians were playing a variety of instruments, many of which Hiccup had never before seen. The sounds they produced were smooth, gentle and melodious.

Hiccup was seated next to the weird short man with the monocle that he'd seen a few days ago who introduced himself as Andros Candelier, Minister of Finance, and the Queen, herself. Despite that, he didn't talk to the Queen at all. In fact, she had hardly sat down for more than five minutes, going from table to table and talking to her subjects, spending most of her time with the families of the fallen.

Having no particular need to talk to the monocle-wearing man besides a few cordial words of exchanged greetings, Hiccup started poking at his food and observing the others. People didn't seem to notice that he was there, exactly, and he was grateful for that, not feeling up to a questioning session right now. The mood worked in his favor, for it seemed that the others didn't feel like trying to unravel the mystery of dragon tamer right after a funeral.

The brown haired prince with the facial hair that he'd talked to earlier was having a quiet conversation with the other two dignitaries that he didn't know, on his side but across from the Queen's empty seat. The members of the council were having their own slow conversation, over a matter of a financial dispute that didn't interest Hiccup in the slightest. He saw Madam Gertrude, but she was speaking to a dignitary several seats over. He still hadn't spoken to her, and it seemed like he wouldn't tonight, either.

His eyes locked with the bald General, and they exchanged a polite nod, before the older man turned back to his conversation and the dragon rider to his food.

Some hour later, the older of the three foreigners excused himself, citing his age as his reason for leaving relatively early. He wasn't the first one. From the tables around them, people had slowly started to rise and depart.

After Madam Gertrude excused herself, citing duties to attend to, he felt safe enough in rising, himself. He claimed that he wanted to retire a bit early, feeling somewhat under the weather. No one objected, since they'd seen that he hadn't had an umbrella before, and he managed to make his way to the doors of the room without trouble.

As he reached the door, opened by helpful servants stationed there, he felt eyes on his back. He turned, and saw the Queen looking at him directly. They locked eyes for a few seconds. She favored him with what he thought was an apologetic smile. He returned it but shook his head, before proceeding to exit the door. He didn't know if the Queen wanted him to stay or was glad to see him gone or just didn't care, but he didn't feel like staying any longer.

It had already gotten relatively late, the sun having set hours ago, during the ceremony. He decided to head directly for his quarters.

When he reached them, he found Toothless curled up next to the balcony doors, staring at the rain outside with an air of melancholy . Hiccup went to his friend, standing next to the big draconian head. He didn't say a word, just slowly rubbed and scratched the dragon, and followed his example in staring outside.

Eventually, he heard to soft snoring that proved Toothless' departure from the land of wakefulness.

Feeling pretty tired himself, Hiccup forewent a bath, knowing that he'd take one next morning and began to undress, slowly removing the still damp clothing and unlatching his prosthetic next to the bed.

He lay down, and was soon asleep. His dreams were full with the white of snow and the shine of the sun against flawless ice.

**~H~**

He woke up on the morning of his fourth day in Arendelle feeling refreshed. He was already up by the time Ernie popped in around seven in the morning. He showered, shaved his growing stubble, and got dressed in a light tunic in a shade of green that he particularly liked. At some point last night, his wardrobe had been filled with all sorts of clothes.

After strapping on his leg, he looked at his bags contemplatively. Making up his mind, he took his disassembled bow, his quiver and his sword and bundled them together using a long and wide piece of leather along with some straps. He hefted the bundle on his back and followed Ernie outside the room, leaving Toothless to sleep in.

The young servant raised an eyebrow at the weapons, but didn't ask about them.

They made idle chatter along the walk to the breakfast room, but Hiccup did not fail to note that security was much higher than it had been previously, with guard presence much more frequent. Soon enough, they had reached their destination. Ernie announced him, bowed, and left him at the door.

Shaking his head, Hiccup went in. He saw the Queen and the Princess, dressed in lovely green and white dresses, already seated. But they weren't alone. With them was the black haired woman he'd seen sometimes. He knew she was a part of Queen Elsa's council, but didn't remember catching her name. Her hair was caught in an elegant bun, and she was dressed more conservatively but with equally fine fabrics.

As he moved further into the room, the Queen greeted him.

"Good morning, Chief Hiccup."

"Good morning." He responded cordially. The Princess waved at him enthusiastically, and he smiled at her.

The Queen motioned the woman next to her, who rose respectfully. "This is Elai Marina, Head Courtier and part of my inner council."

She bowed her head at him. "My Lord."

"Well met, Lady Marina. Please, sit." Yesterday's conversation was still fresh in Hiccup's mind, and he wondered if this was one of the people who doubted his word.

She did sit, and Hiccup took a seat next to Anna, who immediately latched onto his arm and started speaking, a wide smile on her face.

"Chief, Kristoff will be coming this morning! You have to meet him. You promised!"

Hiccup couldn't help but smile back at her. She was positively bursting with positive energy and it was contagious.

"I'd love to."

The Queen called out her sister's name sternly, and the Princess turned her head to look at the Queen. As soon as she caught the blonde's glare, she released Hiccup's arm and rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Sorry ..." she mumbled. Hiccup laughed, but waved her concerns away.

"I see that you're rather armed this morning." The Queen said, nodding towards the bundle that he'd deposited next to his chair.

"Yes. Ernie mentioned something about a practice range yesterday, and I was hoping to get some exercise."

"It is next to the barracks, my Lord." The lady Marina informed him. He nodded.

"Thanks. It's through the Courtyard, is it not?"

"Indeed."

After a few seconds of silence, the Queen spoke.

"Chief Hiccup, there will be a formal dinner two days from now that I would like you to attend, if at all possible. It is the next scheduled after the one you missed on your first day here. It would be a good opportunity to become acquainted with many important people, and to quell many of the rumors surrounding you."

Hiccup tipped his head. "Thank you for the advanced warning. Yes, I will be glad to attend."

Lady Marina's unflinching gaze unnerved him. He felt like he was being bisected, so he turned to the breakfast table instead.

Even on his third morning here, the food still amazed him. So rich and flavorful the likes of which he'd never tasted. Nevertheless, he minded his manners, reminded himself to use his spoon and to never use his hands for anything other than bread, and to eat slowly.

They ate in relative silence. The Queen and the Lady Marina seemed to still be affected by last night's depressing mood, and the Princess had apparently given up on conversation with them beyond generic talk of castle affairs or the weather.

When they were mostly done, the Queen addressed him, asking him what time he planned to take his flight. He asked her whether this afternoon, two hours after lunch, was okay. She nodded her head, and they agreed to meet on the Courtyard, from where he would take off.

Breakfast was soon finished, and they all rose and exited the door, leaving the servants to clean up. Hiccup hefted his bundle of weapons on his right shoulder. Ernie met them outside and bowed to the royals.

Outside, the Head Courtier bowed to each of them in turn.

"It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Chief Haddock."

"Likewise, Lady Marina."

"My Queen, Princess."

The royal sisters nodded to her, and she turned and walked away, her stride crisp and controlled.

Princess Anna turned to him, grabbed hold of his left hand and all but dragged him down the hallway.

"Come, come, he'll be here soon!"

"Anna!" Elsa admonished, but was summarily ignored by her hyperactive sister. Hiccup looked at the Queen helplessly as he was dragged forward, and she shrugged at him. Even Ernie was fighting to repress a smile. There was no hope.

"Where are we going?" He asked.

"To your quarters."

"Why?"

"To get Toothless, of course!"

The Queen frowned at this.

"Is it wise to bring the dragon near Sven?"

"Naw, he'll be fine. Won't he, Chief?"

Hiccup was confused. "Who is Sven?"

"Kristoff's reindeer friend."

"We are meeting Kristoff and his reindeer?" He asked, incredulity coloring his voice. He looked at the Queen, who only raised a perfect eyebrow at him.  
_Right, dragon rider. Gotta remember that.  
_

"Yes, yes. You'll love them, I know it!"

"Sven will be safe near Toothless, will he not?" The Queen asked, looking at him. Hiccup shook his head.

"Yeah. Toothless doesn't like reindeer. Last time he tried, he was removing muscles from his teeth for a week."

The Queen's completely blank expression was worth a thousand golden pieces.

She blinked. "That's ... uh ... that's good I suppose."

For the first time today, Anna showed something other than exuberance. She turned her head to look at him, uncertainty in her eyes.

"Sven will be fine, right?" Hiccup fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"Yes, the reindeer will be fine."

The four of them finally reached Hiccup's rooms, and opened the door to find Toothless, sans gear, swallow the remains of something or other that constituted his breakfast. His tongue peeked out to lick around his mouth, his eyes half-closed in contentment.

He noticed them and immediately bounded over to Hiccup. He laughed and accepted his friend's affectionate rubbing, scratching the dragon behind the ears in a place he knew the Night Fury loved.

Toothless noted the rest of the room's occupants who were staring at him in various degrees of wariness.

He approached Ernie, who hesitantly extended his hand. The dragon met him halfway but kept approaching, until Ernie's hand was around the dragon's head and he was rubbing against the servant's chest.

Unused to affection from a dragon, Ernie threw Hiccup a helpless look, but he only smiled and nodded. Taking the hint, Ernie started rubbing, which caused the dragon to only try and snuggle even closer.

"Don't let him lick you!" Hiccup warned.

It was already too late though. Ernie frowned down at his sleeve, now completely soaked with dragon slobber.

"Why?"

"Because it takes ages to wash that stuff out. Trust me."

A snigger from the Princess drew the dragon's attention, making him stop licking Ernie and look at the royal sisters.

Upon catching sight of Queen Elsa, his happy expression evaporated, to be replaced by half-opened mouth and a low growl from deep inside his throat. Still right next to Ernie, the dragon glared at the Queen, who, judging by her tense stance, was becoming alarmed. Ernie's hands landed on the dragon's head gently, rubbing but at the same time coaxing him on the opposite direction from the Queen.

Hiccup frowned. This wasn't supposed to happen. He approached Toothless, standing on the other side of his head than Ernie, and drew his attention by placing an open palm on his snout.

"Woah there, bud, what's this? What are you doing?"

The dragon looked at the Queen sideways and growled. He jerked his head towards her, then shook it a few times.

"I don't think the dragon likes you, Elsa." Princess Anna fake-whispered.

"No, I don't think he does." The Queen deadpanned.

Hiccup turned his frown towards them.

"I don't understand. He didn't seem to mind you a few days ago, and he generally warms _up_ to people, not the other way around. He even agreed to be friendly with you. Did something happen between you two that I don't know about?"

The flash of understanding on the Queen's eyes would have been enough confirmation, even if the Princess hadn't gasped audibly.

The younger girl turned to her sister, but she only received a raised hand in response, halting whatever she wanted to say in its tracks.

"Nothing happened," she lied "I guess he just doesn't like me."

As if to agree with her, Toothless snorted.

Hiccup's frown deepened. He'd known that something happened, two days ago, but figured that it hadn't been a big deal. He'd even gotten the Night Fury to agree to be friendlier with the Queen, before that. What changed?

"I expect you two to be civil, okay?" He said. The Queen nodded, relaxing her stance, and the dragon huffed but stopped growling, the tension leaving his coiled muscles.

"Let's go then!" Hyperactive Princess to the rescue, bless her heart.  
They shuffled out of the room, Anna leading the way, Hiccup standing between the Queen and Toothless and Ernie following behind them.

Despite her apparent apprehension about the dragon, the Queen, was close enough to Hiccup that Toothless' wings, if extended a little, would touch her. She didn't seem to mind, as the two exchanged idle chatter. Hiccup expressed how impressed he was at the Queen's display of creating ice sculptures, and she regaled him with the tale of how she started making them to develop better control over her powers, eventually doing it solely for enjoyment.

Hiccup's hand rested on Toothless' neck and was rubbing slowly, so the dragon wouldn't feel ignored.

Their procession gathered some attention from servants and passing visitors, who all bowed out of the way with muttered greetings.

Soon, they were just a hallway away from the Courtyard.

"Kristoff!" With that loud exclamation, the Princess was off, running at full speed towards a figure just turning a corner.

Hiccup looked at the Queen, who had palmed her face and was muttering to herself. The sight caused him to grin.

Turning back to the couple ahead, he saw the Princess being raised off her feet and swung around once, twice, before being set down. While the Princess was busy kissing the living daylights out of the poor bloke, Hiccup got a good look at him as they approached.

Tall, blond, and covered in leather and fur outfit that was half-covered in snow. He vaguely recalled something about his profession having to do with ice.

Behind the couple was a reindeer, one of the biggest reindeers that he had seen to date. He looked at Toothless, but the mighty dragon only looked at the reindeer for a second before snorting and resuming being bored.

The Princess had released the man, and the three of them were now coming closer to Hiccup's group.

"Chief Haddock, meet Kristoff Bjorgman, official Ice Deliverer of Arendelle!"

"Well met, master Bjorgman. How do you do?"

"I'm quite well, Lord Haddock, thank you." He replied, but his eyes were locked on the black beast on Hiccup's side. "Is this the dragon Toothless, then?"

"Indeed. Toothless, say hi." The dragon only snorted, refusing to play the games of silly humans, but it was enough for Kristoff.

"Amazing creature." Kristoff said with awe. He glanced behind him and noticed that the huge reindeer was attempting to hide behind him.

"Sven, what are you doing? Come forward."

Then, he did what had to be the weirdest thing Hiccup had seen since his arrival. He crouched until he was eye level with the animal, turned his head towards them and began speaking in a ridiculous voice.

"_But that's a dragon_!" He said. "_Dragons eat us_!" While he spoke, the reindeer was moving his head up and down, as if nodding, and opening and closing his mouth in a weird imitation of human speech.

Then Kristoff stood straight and spoke again. "Oh come on, Sven. Toothless obviously won't hurt you. He is with Chief Haddock."

He pretended to talk for the reindeer again. "_But I'm scared. Dragons are scary. You go closer, first." _A pause. "Fine! Never had you for such a scaredy cat, Sven. Will you behave for a carrot?"

Saying this, he produced a whole carrot from the folds of his clothes. The reindeer nodded and opened his mouth. Kristoff let him have the carrot, but when Sven had eaten almost all of it snatched it back.

"Share." He admonished, before taking a bite out of the remaining carrot.

Hiccup could not watch any longer, lest his eyes spontaneously combust. Instead, he leveled a despairing look at the Queen, who was looking at him and openly sniggering in amusement.

He knew better than to ask her if what he was seeing was actually happening. He didn't need any more reminders that he had a dragon as his best friend and life companion.

"Please," he begged, voice low enough for only the Queen to hear "please tell me that _we_ don't sound like _that_." He pointed over his shoulder at the man, who was still arguing with himself while pretending to be arguing with the reindeer.

The Queen's face was split by a wide smile. She must be really enjoying the situation. Hiccup's hopes were dashed.

"Well, at least you only say your own lines. That gives you _some_ extra points."

True enough.

He exchanged an incredulous look with Toothless, who looked away from the weird exchange only to snort at his rider before returning his gaze forward at the spectacle, again.

Their arguments finished, the three of them reached Hiccup and the Queen and the greetings continued. All together, they walked outside, to the Courtyard. There, the Queen excused herself, saying that she still had rounds to make around the castle.

That left Hiccup with the Princess, her beloved, and the two animal companions. Sven the reindeer still seemed to send the Night Fury fearful looks, but after sniffing him once and snorting, Toothless never again bothered with the other animal.

Hiccup and Kristoff talked, with the occasional interjection of Anna. The blond man explained what his profession entailed and why he was often gone for long periods of time, as well as the role Sven played in his business. Hiccup learned that Sven and Kristoff had been friends since childhood, and he was given a less abridged version of the events of four years earlier that lead to his relationship with the Princess than the history books offered.

It was a sobering tale. That prince from the Southern Isles had almost managed to kill both royals and successfully take over Arendelle. He was only slightly surprised to learn that Kristoff played as much a part in saving the day as the two women had. He looked dubious at the 'true love' thing, but in the end he shrugged it off. He did not know anything about magic, really, and he'd seen stranger things.

Anna and Kristoff told him a lot, and they talked for a few hours. Eventually, Kristoff had to go and the Princess decided to go with him. Hiccup promised to meet with them again, thanked them for the company, and told Kristoff how glad he was to have met him and Sven.

He waved one last time at the Princess before the couple turned a corner, finally going out of view.

He slumped against the wall, rubbing his temples and sighing with relief. He had nothing but respect for both of them, but he could only take the Princess' exuberance and Kristoff's reindeer act for so long before developing a headache.

Ernie patiently waited for him to regain his bearings, a smile playing on his lips. Hiccup would have glared at him, but decided it was not worth the effort.

Seeing as they still had some hours before lunch, Hiccup made up his mind to go the practice range.

Ernie led him through the Courtyard and into one of the side doors. It led to another open space, between the walls of courtyard and the outer walls. Several buildings served as barracks, and Hiccup observed soldiers in great numbers performing exercises, receiving lectures, or simply lounging here and there.

Because Toothless could not fit through the door, he had to jump over the low wall separating the two areas. His sudden appearance and subsequent landing from above the wall drew the attention of every single soldier in the area, who looked up in alarm. Some drew swords or aimed crossbows. Thankfully, Hiccup's entry with Ernie could not be missed, and by now everyone recognized the Viking chief.

Ernie had a few quick words with an officer, who nodded and pointed them towards the firing range. Ernie thanked him and the three of them moved from the barracks. As they walked, they were given a wide berth from the soldiers, still the center of attention. Hiccup was pleased to note that while everyone was watching him and the dragon cautiously, there was no actual aggression in their stances, merely uncertainty.

However, while he had made great strides in restraining his reactions, weapons still made Toothless antsy.

"Easy, boy." Hiccup soothed him quietly, running his hand over the dragon's neck mollifying him.

They went through another walled section, and it led into a wide area. On the far side the castle proper began, rising high and with balconies doting its side. It was mostly comprised of a firing range, with one wall lined with targets of varying sizes. In front of the targets, the entire area was clear and separated in lines, each line in front of one target, so as to give each archer a straight shot at whichever distance he desired.

The space that wasn't used in the firing lines was filled with wooden dummies, against which soldiers hacked away with wooden or actual swords. The rest of the walls were lined with weapon caches and workbenches. Several soldiers were here, too. Some were discussing in the sidelines, others were making use of the firing range, and others yet were practising their sword forms. Many were in full armor, others only pieces of and others yet simply with their tunics or regular clothes.

Besides the soldiers, there were several foreigners like himself, as well as city folk, here for their own training.

Their arrival once again drew all heads towards them. Hiccup met their gaze evenly, looking at each of them for a few seconds before proceeding. Among the firing lines, he spotted someone he knew. He raised his hand in greeting.

"Ted, greetings."

It was almost comical how every head turned towards the man. The archer seemed a little startled. He was a blond man, quite a bit older than Hiccup, and one of the soldiers he'd talked to on the trip to Arendelle. He looked warily at Toothless, but approached them nonetheless, setting his bow down on a wooden stand.

"Chief Haddock, greetings."

"How do you do, Ted?"

Ted wasn't his actual name. It was, however, what Hiccup had decided to call him after learning his name, a much longer and confusing one, that he promptly forgot.

"Great, actually. The time off went very well with the family."

By now, Hiccup noted that everyone had returned to what they were previously doing, through some still stole glances at them once in a while.

"Ah. The daughter no longer not so subtly implying a courtship with a certain stableboy, then?"

Ted threw his head back and laughed, an easy barking sound.

"Not quite, no. Elisa seems to have focused her attention towards the inside of castle, lately."

"Indeed?"

"Yes," the man nodded, his wrinkles accented by his wide smile "she and her friends have been talking on and on about the newest addition to the castle's bachelors."

Hiccup was suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.

"Oh?"

"Yes. In fact, they've been pestering me to arrange for them to _accidentally _meet you."

Hiccup blinked, not able to stop himself from reddening slightly, and took to fiddling with the small braid on his hair in discomfort.

"Well ... um ... that's-"

Ted laughed again, and Hiccup grinned despite himself, realizing he was being foolish.

By now Toothless had confirmed that they were in no danger, and apparently decided that Hiccup's conversation was extremely boring. Instead, he went grumpily over to the side of the wall, where it was shaded, and plopped down for a nap. He drew a few odd looks from the closest soldiers, but it mostly served very well to sort of blend him into the background.

Hiccup talked with Ted, who asked Ernie to go to the Barracks and call for Gregor and Brandon, the other two men Hiccup had gotten to know during the trip.

Soon, they were joined by the other two men, both older than Hiccup but younger than Ted, who would soon be approaching retirement age for a soldier.

They got to talking, with Hiccup explaining his impressions so far, getting a few clarifications and promising to visit their respective households whenever asked.

Eventually, Brandon showed interest in the bundle of weapons on his shoulder, asking him if he'd come to train. Hiccup nodded.

"Yes. I was hoping to get some practise in, to keep my aim sharp."

He released the bundle on a wooden stand, tied the sword to his belt and assembled the bow and its cord. Upon inspecting the bow, Ted whistled.

"This is impressive woodwork."

"Made it myself." Hiccup said. He hd created every single piece of equipment he carried, and was very proud of that fact.

Brandon was looking at him speculatively, fiddling with his own bow.

"How good are you?" He asked. Hiccup grinned.

"_Very_ good."

Ted and Brandon exchanged grins, and then proceeded to challenge Hiccup to a friendly contest, using a game the archers at the castle had devised.

The rules were simple. They would all begin firing at the targets from a specific line drawn on the floor, at close range. Every succesful hit and they would go to the next line, a few meters behind the previous. Bullseye counted double, and one could choose to go to a line with a smaller target if he hit three bullseyes in a row or completely missed twice in a row. They could stay in the same row even if they missed twice, but the lines kept going until such a distance that it was practically impossible to hit near the center of the target, never mind the bullseye. Smaller targets increased each succesful hit's worth. They would fire every thirty seconds, at a signal given to them by the referee.

Gregor, the only swordsman of their group, would judge this one.

It began well enough for all of them, none having trouble landing the shots on close range. Soon, they had reached several lines backwards and hit enough bullseyes to advance to the next target.

Hiccup's mastery over archery became apparent soon, as he was the only one consistently hitting the center of the targets. Ted was the first to get out of the contest, having been left too far behind in points. He took it in good humor, saying that he was too old for this kind of stuff and cheering the two younger men on.

Brandon was extremely accurate at close and mid range, but Hiccup had the upper hand at long range and took brutal advantage of it, scoring more bullseyes and proceeding to smaller targets before his opponent could do the same.

Eventually, Hiccup's lead in points exceeded what Brandon could realistically come back from, and he graciously accepted defeat. The two clasped hands while the soldiers who had gathered around them cheered. Hiccup assumed that good contests always gathered excitement.

"After that display," Ted, who had approached them again, said "I believe that I want to see what else the Chief can do."

This drew cheers from the people around. Hiccup raised his hands and tried to politely decline, but Brandon reminded him that he came here to practice. What better way to do that other than push himself to his limits?

"You're just saying that to see me go all out." Hiccup pointed out.

"True," the man nodded "but what I said still stands."

Hiccup decided that he actually had a point, and since everyone was pestering him he might as well get it over with.

"Alright, fine, I'll do it. What did you have in mind, then?"

"A faraway shot?" Ted ventured.

"How far?" Hiccup asked.

"How far can you shoot?" Ted fired back. Hiccup smiled.

"What's the furthest I can shoot from?"

Ted blinked for a few seconds, and when he realized that Hiccup was not kidding released a laugh, before pointing with his hand at the base of the castle wall, quite a distance away. Brandon and the others had heard the exchange. Hiccup heard some people place bets, even.

He nodded his head, gathered up his bow and quiver and walked to the spot. It was one of the furthest lines, and he'd chosen it specifically because the target was very small. Combined with the incredible distance of basically the entire practise range, it should be a great show for all involved.

_If_ he managed it.

Shaking any such doubts from his mind, he reached his position at the base of stone wall. Thankfully, he was given a wide berth, and people had the decency to at least pretend they weren't staring at him. Toothless was snoring a few meters to his left.

He saw out of the corner of his eye a lot of people look at a spot _above_ him. Was that supposed to be subtle? No matter.

He took his trusty wooden bow in hand and removed a single arrow from his quiver. He readied his stance, spacing his feet evenly, and looked ahead at the wooden target. He took deep breaths, tuning out everyone else around him. A few seconds later, he raised the bow and notched the arrow. He slowly pulled back, aligning with a spot slightly above a tiny bit to the side, taking account of the slight wind.

A few more breaths, some final calculations as he held the arrow back. Then, he let fly. The projectile flew for one, two seconds, before slamming with an audible thud on the wooden post.

The awed cheers from all around him confirmed it before he saw it with his own eyes; a perfect bullseye. Hiccup smiled, feeling relieved despite himself. He'd landed more difficult shots than this in the past, but rarely to such a critical audience.

The cheers stopped, to be replaced by gasps of surprise from many of the onlookers. Hiccup frowned, and was about try to see what was going on when a bolt of white frost flew -almost as fast an arrow- and landed solidly on his arrow, freezing it solid.

Hiccup did not need to look up to know who was on the balcony above him, or who the soldiers were looking at. He only gazed at the frozen arrow in the distance. Was that a challenge?

He could hardly refuse such a direct challenge.

Without turning or acknowledging the ice sorceress above him in any way, Hiccup withdrew two arrows from the quiver on his side. Slowly, he held his bow sideways, so that he could place both arrows amid his fingers.

The soldiers spotted what he was doing, and the cheering began with renewed vigor on the face of such a difficult attempt. Hiccup tuned them out once again. This trick approached the limits of his abilities, but nothing else would suffice.

He held both arrows on the bow, and tilted his head to take aim. He aimed the second arrow at the target right next to the one he'd shot at before. He slowed his breathing once again, emptying his head of anything besides himself, the wind and the targets.

A few seconds of concentration later, he let loose the arrows. The springing sound of the bow's string was the only thing that was heard on the practise range, as everyone else was holding their breaths.

Two seconds later, one of the arrows landed right on top of his first, now frozen one, straight on the bullseye. The other arrow found its way to the center of the target to the left, though it was slightly approaching the edge of the bullseye. Still, two perfect hits.

Hiccup straightened his posture, allowing a smile to appear on his face and his bow to fall on his side. He'd done it. His sense of hearing came back to him in a rush, and he took in the congratulatory remarks and shouts of the soldiers around him. He allowed the satisfaction of his accomplishment to flow through him, knowing that this was the result of almost five years of training.

He was about to turn and address the Queen, when two bolts of frost went over his head simultaneously. He tracked their flight, and saw them strike his arrows perfectly, freezing them over. Apparently the Queen wasn't done, because a second later his three frozen arrows burst, like crystals after being dropped, and fell to the ground in hundreds of pieces.

He blinked one, twice, gettings his thoughts in order. That made quite the statement.

Well, he was nothing if not gracious, even in defeat.

He turned and looked up. On a balcony two floors above him stood the Queen, with the Princess and another woman he didn't know. She was smiling down at him, hand still raised and frost slowly seeping out of it.

"You always manage to upstage me, Queen Elsa." He called up to her, to the cheers of their audience who loved their Queen above all. "Your aim is impeccable."

"As is yours." The Queen replied Hiccup wasn't sure because he was looking from below, but for a second he thought that she'd grimaced, but then it was gone in an instant. Maybe it was a trick of the light.

"You flatter me."

"Merely stating a fact." She paused to listen to something the woman on her side said, then addressed Hiccup again.

"I'll leave you boys to your fun." She said, drawing laughter from the soldiers. "But do keep in mind that it will be lunch-time soon."

"Yes, Queen Elsa."

With that, the Queen nodded, turned, and left, her light blond hair glinting in the sunlight as she did so.

Hiccup turned back towards the soldiers but Ted, Brandon and Gregor had already approached him.

"That was some amazing shooting, lad." Ted said, clapping him on the shoulder. Hiccup was glad that the older man had taken to heart that he didn't want to be treated a certain way merely because of his title.

"I can see why I lost, now." Brandon noted, scratching his bearded chin. "I never would have managed a shot like that."

"Lots and lots of practise." Hiccup observed, drawing chuckles from the men.

With the show over, everyone returned to what they were doing. Hiccup went after some more reasonable exercises, along with Ted and Brandon.

Not long after, everyone started dispersing to the Barracks mess hall for their lunch. He'd hoped to get some sword practise in, but he'd gotten carried away with archery and now it was too late.

_Oh well, there's always tomorrow._

He said his goodbyes to everyone, promised to visit them again, extracted promises to show him exactly how the crossbow worked, and went to the door of the practise range after kicking Toothless awake. The lizard grumbled, but followed. Ernie was waiting by the door, sitting on a chair. He got up as soon as Hiccup came close.

"Impressive performance."

"Why thank you, Ernie."

"Lunch?"

"Lunch."

They walked side by side to the mess room that Hiccup was familiar with and left Toothless waiting outside. Hiccup was tired from the exertion, and considered going to his quarters for a refreshing bath, first, but eventually decided against it. He'd get one when he went, later, anyway.

They both ate in silence, Ernie sitting down after only one stern look from Hiccup. After they were done, they headed to his quarters, Ernie insisting on accompanying them even though Hiccup knew the way.

After Hiccup and Toothless went in, they both tended to their hygiene. Hiccup decided to indulge in a bath like the first one he'd had, and filled the tub to the brim with hot water, again experimenting with various soaps. As Hiccup soaked in the tub, Toothless licked himself clean with his tongue, a process that Hiccup found wholly disgusting and was thankful that his slobber evaporated relatively quickly, else he'd never ride the dragon again.

After he was done and clean, he saw that he still had some time until his prearranged meeting with the Queen. He sat on the desk, taking his leather-bound notebook with him. He hadn't written anything yesterday, and he had a lot of stuff to write down. He started with a brief description of the castle, followed by a simple sketch of the building. Then he proceeded to make simple but coherent sketches of the royal sisters and Ernie, and below each he described them. He continued with his general thoughts and impressions about the land so far. He was relatively certain that they couldn't decipher the Berk dialect, even if they decided to go through his stuff for some reason. His notebook _should_ be safe.

He had lost track of time when he heard the knock on his door. He was startled, dropping the quill he was writing with. He thanked Odin that no ink was spilled on the page, and turned the notebook over. The ink wasn't dry yet, but in this way the pages wouldn't be seen.

He went to the door and opened it. To his surprise, he saw the Queen standing outside, hands clasped together and a polite smile on her face. She was wearing a different gown than earlier -when did she have the time to change clothes all the time? This was was mostly white, with touches of blue here and there, and flowed gracefully on the floor behind her.

"Hello Chief Hiccup. I hope I'm not bothering you."

"Queen Elsa, greetings. No, no bother at all." He said, uncertainty coloring his voice. They hadn't agreed that she would meet him here. He turned his head back to look at the clock on his wall, and he saw that he still had a few minutes before he'd have had to go.

"Come in, please." He invited her, moving to the side. She tipped her head and walked in, surveying the room quickly and discreetly, her gaze resting on Toothless' curled form before settling on him.

"I'm early, I know." The Queen said. "But I was finished a little earlier than I expected, and I figured that I could pick you up, as they say."

She was smiling at Hiccup, and he wasn't sure what to make of that. It seemed kind of hopeful to him, but he didn't know if he could trust his reads on her quite yet.

"That's okay, but I wasn't expecting you so soon, so I'm not ready yet."

Her eyes swept from him to Toothless and back again.

"I see a dragon, and I see a rider. What's not ready?"

"Well, yes, but do you see any riding gear?"

He watched her face, and she stared blankly for a second. Then her eyes widened slightly and color rushed to her cheeks Hiccup had to force down a grin.

"Oh," she said, trying to cover her embarrassment with a fake cough "Um ... certainly. I suppose I forgot about that."

Hiccup chuckled. "Don't worry, I don't expect you to be a dragon riding expert quite yet."

She smiled at his humor and the color slowly left her cheeks, leaving the pale, almost white complexion from before.

"I'll just go put on my gear, then, and we'll be right out."

"Alright."

They stared at each other for a minute. Hiccup was growing increasingly uncomfortable and by the looks of things, so was the Queen. So what was she waiting for? She didn't expect him to get ready with her in the room, did she?

The Queen decided to break the awkward silence first. She cleared her throat, before speaking slowly.

"So ..." She drew out the word and let it hang, as if unsure of what to follow it with.

"Well, I'll be out as soon as I put on my gear. Meaning I'll have to change clothes."

Understanding lit her expression, before color was once again rushing through those pale cheeks at the realization that it was she who was holding things up.

"Oh ... change. Of course. I didn't-, I mean, I didn't think that-"

Hiccup cut her off, taking pity on her and giving her a chance to regain her bearings.

"It's okay, it's okay. No harm done. Just wait outside for a minute and me and Toothless will be ready."

She nodded gratefully, and started backing out of the room.

"Outside, yes. I'll just ... wait outside ... then."

Still backing up, she bumped into the half opened door. Cheeks flaming, she threw him another embarrassed glance before practically bolting through it.

Hiccup shook his head. He'd given up trying to understand women a long time ago.

He moved to his baggage, where he'd placed his folded outfit. He kept the tunic but removed the belt, the trousers and the shoe. He wore his own, thicker pants that fit him better, then his insulated shirt with armor pieces. He made sure the rings on his waist were working and checked every strap twice for weak spots. Satisfied, he wore his heavy boot on his right foot. The shoes of Arendelle were nice, but offered minimal protection against the cold or the wind.

He kicked Toothless, who was napping, awake and dodged the instinctive swipe of his tail. The dragon opened his eyes grumbling. Hiccup had no doubt that he was about to be pounced for interrupting the dragon's nap, but the Night Fury's irritation vanished as soon as he saw that Hiccup wore the riding gear. He immediately jumped to his feet and began letting out excited barking sounds.

"Yes bud, we're going flying." The confirmation caused the excited dragon to have a fit of happiness. He started turning on the spot, tail waggling madly as he released his laughing sounds, ear flaps fully erect. He stopped his turning only to give Hiccup a long, drawn out lick from top to bottom.

"Ew, Toothless. I've told you to stop that." He admonished, trying to shake the slobber off his outfit. The dragon wasn't listening, however, and had already moved to the saddlebags, burying his head completely inside one. He emerged, saddle and straps carefully held between his teeth, and bounded back to Hiccup, dropping the kit on his feet and yapping excitedly.

Hiccup felt a pang of guilt. The trip to Arendelle had not been very kind to Toothless, so far. While he was discovering new things and having fun, the poor Night Fury was either bored out of his mind or alarmed by the soldiers, and they couldn't even fly to fix it. Well, no longer.

He set about strapping the equipment on the dragon, which thankfully didn't take more than two minutes. After checking that everything was in place and working correctly, Hiccup nodded to himself and retrieved his helmet from the bags. He left the sword, but kept the dagger, hidden underneath an armor piece of his suit.

He opened the doors to allow Toothless exit, and they joined the Queen who had, it seemed regained her composure and had been waiting for them. She looked both of them over, taking note of their gear.

"Apologies for making you wait."

"Nonsense, it's my fault for arriving early."

They set towards the Courtyard and drew their fair share of looks along the way. Hiccup hadn't walked around in his armor since his first arrival here, and it seemed that plenty of people needed a reminded of who he truly was. The sight of the dragon with his equipment, saddle and red tailfin only added to the whole picture.

Queen Elsa glanced at the helmet held under his armpit.

"Are you expecting to fight people on your flight, Chief Hiccup?"

Hiccup shook his head. "The helmet's not for fighting. Well, not _only_ for fighting."

"Oh? What else, then?"

"It's useful against wind burns and bugs."

The Queen's expression shifted to one of confusion.

"What do you mean, wind burns?"

"It's what happens when your skin is hit with very fast winds. It can happen during heavy storm or blizzards, though I'm not surprised that you don't have a term for it. Wind burns are, not surprisingly, pretty common for a dragon rider."

"Oh, well I suppose that makes sense."

"Quite."

Her brow furrowed in thought. After a few seconds, she spoke again.

"And the bugs?"

Hiccup grimaced.

"You don't want to know about the bugs."

Something in his face must have convinced her, because she did not ask again. Instead, she looked over at Toothless.

"Are all those straps and metals necessary?"

"Well, technically not. But out of the various saddle designs, this is the one we prefer the most."

"I see."

They had reached the doors to the Courtyard, and the two guards stationed there bowed and opened the doors wide. The Courtyard was not empty. Rather, nobles and servants were milling about, walking slowly or talking in small groups by the fountains. Everybody stopped as soon as the dragon became visible.

They walked to the center of the Courtyard, where there was plenty of empty space. Toothless was redistributing his weight, anxious to finally get in the air.

"Where will you go?" The Queen asked.

"I was thinking a few laps around the valley, just to give the townspeople something to talk about. After that, we'll probably head behind that mountain over there or a few miles into the sea, just to be out of sight."

"Why is it necessary to be out of sight?"

"Well, it's not necessary exactly, but we've been grounded for a long time and we'll want to cut loose, you know? I don't think it wise to show these kind of tricks to people unused to the idea of dragon riders."

The 'that includes you' went unsaid. She nodded her head.

"Alright. And when will you be back?"

"Around dusk, I believe."

"I'll see if I can be here. If not, I'll order the Courtyard emptied."

"Thank you, Queen Elsa."

Toothless bumped his head into his back and wailed impatiently, which effectively ended their conversation. Hiccup offered the Queen one last smile before placing the helmet over his head. Surprisingly, the Queen's face twitched and she took an involuntary step back. What was _with_ that?

He was acutely aware that he had the attention of dozens of eyes from all around him as he deftly climbed on Toothless and settled on the saddle, clicking the protective straps on the saddle rings. There were no reigns; Toothless was no horse. Hiccup grabbed the handholds he'd made on the front of the leather saddle. His prosthetic took its place with a soft click, and he tested the functionality of the contraption by extending the fake tailfin this way and that, to avoid mid-air surprises. All standard procedure and Toothless knew it, but he was still shaking impatiently, muscles coiled and ready to spring.

Finally satisfied that everything was in working order, he clicked the tailfin into its starting position, so that it mirrored Toothless' own, and spared the Queen one last look. He could not contain his excitement, and though she could not see it from under his helmet, he was grinning widely. Knowing that it was almost time, the Night Fury slowly extended his wings.

"Stand back, milady" He couldn't help the slight feeling of satisfaction and the equally slight smirk, as Elsa's eyes widened.

"Toothless!" He called, and the dragon sprang. He'd folded himself lower, like a cat ready to pounce, wings fully extended. At Hiccup's order, the dragon leaped, every hat in the courtyard was sent flying as Toothless shot twenty feet straight up.

One moment they were coiled on the ground of the Courtyard, the next they'd almost reached the top of the Queen's tower already. Hiccup was just as excited as Toothless, and the sound of his loud laughter echoed between the walls of the Courtyard and the castle itself as they rocketed upwards. Toothless' let out low happy barks, flapping his wings faster and faster, his limbs following the movement unconsciously.

It was a beautiful day, and they flew as high up as the clouds, before suddenly stopping their ascent and letting themselves fall backwards, entering a controlled freefall, enjoying the feeling of the wind rushing through.

They leveled above the castle, and Hiccup directed Toothless in a fast glide around the main towers of the castle, within the perimeter of the castle walls. On the second lap around the towers, he spotted the tiny form of the Queen, still on the Courtyard along with everybody else. He waved excitedly as they passed. He noticed the scores of people watching them, but paid them no mind.

Toothless led them over the fjord and they dipped low. Low enough that Hiccup could see his reflection if leaned to the side, and Toothless could sink the edge of his claws in the water. The flew over the water's surface, relishing the feeling of freedom that flying always induced. They started climbing again, up and away from the castle, towards the open sea. There, they could indulge in some of their more risky and jerky stunts that would probably scare any onlookers.

When Hiccup had deemed them far away, they began. Simple things at first, such as sudden changes in altitude or weaving between clouds. Warmup done, they escalated to continues barrel rolls, freefalls, flying incredibly high or incredibly low, and to top off the evening Hiccup jumped off of Toothless' back and they both fell side by side, until he once again grabbed hold of the saddle and seated himself.

Before they knew it, hours had passed and the sun was dipping below the horizon.

"Come on bud, let's go back." Hiccup instructed, and the Night Fury complied without a lot of arguments. They were both satisfied but tired. They flew slowly on the way back, simply enjoying the feeling, each other's company, and the sunset to their left.

They arrived back at the castle. As they were flying more slowly this time, Hiccup took some time examining it from above. It was quite impressive, and the city of Arendelle expanded around it. His estimations had been correct, it really wasn't bigger than Berk. Still, it made for quite the lovely view.

Circling the castle as they were, Hiccup noticed the scores of guards lining the walls and patrolling all over the place. Understandable, he supposed, in the wake of an attempt on the Queen's life, but then ... where those _war machines_ on the turrets? He didn't recognize them, but their function was obvious. They weren't trained on him and Toothless currently, but he didn't doubt that they'd be hard-pressed to evade them all if they had to. And he didn't remember seeing war machines on the walls when he arrived here. Where these, too, new security additions in the wake of the attack? Or were they a failsafe against him and Toothless?

He determined to think on this later, not wanting to spoil the mood of the first flight after nearly five days. They circled the castle once again, gliding lower and lower, until Hiccup changed the tailfin's position again and Toothless responded, swiftly diving the rest of the way down to the Courtyard's floor. He leveled a couple meters above the ground touched down lightly.

There were still a lot of people around, some of them not even trying to hide the fact that they were waiting for him. Hiccup paid them no mind. They'd get used to it.

He lightly hopped off the saddle after releasing his prosthetic, and rubbed his friend's long neck.

"That was awesome, bud."

Toothless purred from low in his throat, obviously satisfied with the whole endeavor and agreeing with him.

Hiccup heard her voice from behind him.

"Quite the performance."

He turned, a smile on his face. The Queen was standing with the Princess and Ernie. Though not matching the younger girl's beaming smile, the Queen's expression was pleasant. Or it had been, for as soon as Hiccup turned to look at her she flinched, before composing herself again on a mask of neutrality.

Hiccup wondered about this. What had caused it? Was it the helmet? He reached up and removed the helmet, mechanically running his gloved fingers through his long hair to straighten them somewhat. It must have been the helmet, for in its absence the Queen seemed to relax a bit.

What was wrong with his helmet?

"Pssh, that was nothing." Hiccup waved her off. "Simple gliding and turns. That's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg."

"Still more than anyone else around here has seen, so it was plenty impressive." Princess Anna replied.

"I guess so."

"You must be tired, are you not?"

"Kind of, yes. I'm thinking of going to my quarters and then for dinner."

"We won't keep you then." The Queen said. "It is getting rather late. You remember the banquet I invited you to?"

Hiccup's brow furrowed a little at the unknown word. However, there was only one thing the Queen had invited him to, and it was the feast two days from now. So, he simply nodded. Glancing at Toothless, he saw the dragon cleaning its paws, not caring about them in the slightest.

"Yes, I remember. I won't miss it."

"Good, good. Then we'll let you retire."

"But I have so many questions!" The Princess cut in, a slight whine edging itself into her voice. Hiccup grinned despite himself. It was impossible not to like the exuberant girl.

"Chief Hiccup is tired, and I won't have you pester him now." The Queen scolded her sister, as if to a child. The Princess' face fell, and she mumbled a grudging agreement. Hiccup's smile widened. This was gold. Solid gold.

"Tomorrow, perhaps?" He offered, and received nods. They exchanged pleasantries and separated, the royal sisters heading inside and to the right, while Ernie, Hiccup and Toothless went left. Hiccup chatted with Ernie on the way, asking him about this or that landmark that he'd spotted while airborn, and Ernie asked about pieces of Toothless' harness that he couldn't figure out what they were for.

When they reached his quarters and not two seconds after being divested of his harness, Toothless scratched on the balcony door and crooned at Hiccup until he opened it. Then the Night Fury plopped himself on the balcony and proceeded to nap. Ernie opened a book while waiting for Hiccup to bathe and dress into something more casual than his armor. When the viking had done so, so the two of them headed out, leaving Toothless to his rest.

Dinner was a quiet affair for both of them, Ernie knowing him well enough by now that he knew he preferred comfortable silence to forced conversation. By the end of the meal Hiccup was sated of his hunger but he was just beginning to feel the deep fatigue of a full, active day. His limbs felt sluggish, and his mind even more so.

Ernie followed him until his quarters, at which point he bowed and bid him goodnight. Hiccup did bathe, though he resisted the urge to fill the tub and just melt in it, because he'd much rather avoid falling asleep accidentally. Toothless had eaten while he was at dinner, and the dragon was now out like a light, sprawled on the balcony. Apparently, it was his new sleeping quarters.

Wrapped in a warm robe, courtesy of Ernie, he sat heavily at the desk. He still had some energy left, and he wanted to record his experiences in his notebook and complete his earlier writings. He added a few rough sketches of Arendelle from above. He didn't keep it up for long. He finished writing and prepared for bed.

There was still a lot to be done in the days to come.

**~H~**

* * *

**Notes:**

** i)**I swear to god, the wordcount ofthese chapters just reproduces by itself and I'm left with half a chapter that already exceeds 10k words and then I'm forced to split it up, even though it is the already split second part of the previous chapter, so technically it's one fourth of the original. I fail at estimating wordcounts for anything, basically.

**ii)**Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed. I read and appreciate every single one, and they're very helpful and motivational. However, there is something I want to say. I have a very clear plan for the story and I follow it diligently. I appreciate your reviews, but if I write something that one of you happened to suggest in a previous chapter's review, in no way does this mean that I got my inspiration from you. Sorry, but if I waited for reviews to write my story I would be pretty pathetic.

**iii) **The full trailer for HTTYD 2 has been released, as well as the first 5 minutes of it. My views on it are mixed. I like a lot of the concepts, but I absolutely hate Hiccup's mother, and I'm pretty sure the second movie will not fit perfectly with what I have planned. Expect to see some, but not all, of HTTYD 2 absorbed into my story. You can be certain that the mother will not be one of them.

For tl;dr's sake, my fic has been canon only until the end of the first HTTYD movie, not the second, though I retain the right to integrate whatever parts of it I see fit.

**iv)** Each of you must sacrifice their pet cats to the lady Sorrows, AKA Yes Miss Lady. If you don't own a pet cat, buy one. Then sacrifice it.

** v) **I am not a history buff. I am not an anthropologist, an archeologist, a historian, or a combination of the above. I will do cursory research on topics of interest, but the focus of this fic is not historical accuracy. If that is what you want, go read '_Here Be Dragons_' over at the HTTYD fandom, by _Dyanne Hellen Sotobod_. She writes better than I ever could.

**vi)** I don't believe in cliffhangers. I think they're a cheap device that says more about the author than about the story.


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